Temporal Illusion
by phoenix catcher
Summary: Harry/OMC. Non-human:Harry. Harry finally has enough of being forced into war and tries to have a normal life only to discover his greatest secret and an entire world hidden under the normal one. But with the new comes both the good and the bad.
1. Butterfly Wings

Temporal Illusion

Disclaimer; I do not own Harry Potter or the Night World. Anything from my story that you recognise from either of these Book Series' are not my own. This also includes the concept from the film Cashback.

**Warnings; Slash, Anti-Wizarding World.**

Chapter 1; Butterfly Wings

Harry James Potter, eighteen year old BVetMed student at the Hawkshead Campus of the Royal Veterinary College, sat on the grass outside his first year dorms with the two friends he'd met at the beginning of his previous year, his first year there. They'd been relaxing in the warmth of the early June sunlight.

"So you still going down to Brambridge?" Nicky, or Nicola, asked Harry as she stared up through her sunglasses into the open sky.

"Yeah." Harry grinned down at her from where he sat cross-legged playing cards with his other friend Jez, or Jeremy. "I've still got the gig in Marwell."

"You know, I'm really jealous." Jez grumbled for about the hundredth time in the last week since they'd gotten their first year results back and Harry had been accepted for a Summer Apprenticeship working with the Vets at one of the country's largest Zoos.

"You know you plan to lounge around at home and do fuck all." Harry laughed at his friend who for a moment looked truly offended before his face lost the stern look and he chuckled. "See. You wouldn't want the job anyway, ten hour days and all that work."

"You know this is getting old, right?" Nicky pointed out. She barely turned to look at them as she spoke. There were subtle difference in the three friends but their personalities were surprisingly similar. They all had a caring, soft side even though they were hid behind more outgoing exteriors. Nicky always fretted over her appearance even though she drew the attention of most of the boys in their class. Jez had the look of a rebel even though he was rather soft on the inside whereas Harry was the same except he had a more welcoming face though he attracted the girls because of the sense of mystery that hung around him wherever he went.

All three had no family though for different reasons. Nicky's father had died of cancer and her mother had married an utter bastard who'd paid to send Nicky to a boarding school. Her mother and step father had then promptly moved to Spain and never spoken to her again, leaving her only enough money to start off at University. Jez probably had near the worst history. His mother had died at childbirth and though it had come up exactly twice with Harry and once with Nicky, he'd been abused violently from an early age until his father had disappeared and been found dead in America after he had supposedly tried to extort money from a gang. Jez had been thirteen at the time and had then grown up with foster carers who hadn't really been able to help him. A grant had seen Jez into the University.

Harry's past was definitely the most interesting though. As far as Jez and Nicky knew his parents had been murdered when he was a baby and he'd grown up with unwelcoming relatives who'd neglected him until he was sent to a boarding school up North. Not much was known about those years but it culminated with the loss of his friends, the murder of a student, the death of an escaped convict of a godfather he'd loved and the universal school attitude that Harry was no better than a tool.

The way Harry spoke about it left Jez and Nicky with little to imagine in the way of how horrible it had been for him but they both understood what it was like to be rejected by family and friends and to come into the small population of those that have experienced pain at the hands of those that they should have been able to trust unconditionally. Harry's stint at boarding school had lasted six years before he'd left the school, finished his A-levels at a southern college and then used the remains of his trust fund to pay for University.

They had no outside ties and it made them the perfect friends. Harry always found some kind of justice in that. He, Hermione and Ron had always been too different in both history, emotions and views to have ever survived. Harry's days of overlooking the obvious for his own faked happiness were over now though. He'd live a normal life and that was all he wanted.

Ok, so maybe things weren't perfectly normal. His wand was perfectly safe with Fawkes and he had no intention of ever collecting it, he could use small bits of wandless magic here and there if he really needed to get out of a jam but with Voldemort dead he had no horrific supernatural powers hunting him down and that was a weight off of his shoulders.

As he picked up the card Jez had just discarded before replacing it with one of his own a flicker of wings drew his attention. A butterfly landed serenely on Jez's fringe perching lightly on the blond hair. Jez saw it but Harry had seen it first.

A blanket of silence came down over the world. The butterfly's slowly twitching wings froze as did Jez. The gentle breeze seemed to stop instantaneously. Harry smiled in the sudden stillness of the world. The students were frozen in whatever they were doing. A couple had stopped their playful bantering under a tree nearby, three students and a lecturer had stopped their languid walk through the grounds. The few clouds above them had frozen in place, a bird was caught in the act of taking off out of a tree and finally the clock on the building behind Harry was frozen between two seconds. The entire world was frozen in a single moment.

So things were definitely not perfectly normal in Harry's life. Jez looked completely altered in the moment before he brushed away the Butterfly and it was moments like these that Harry treasured in his life. This was how he'd discovered the power he had over the moments in the world. Some moments were perfect, like this one, whereas others were hard to remember but all were equally important and to Harry some were worth more than the barest of looks. Like the mixing of nature and humans like the scene before him or even the frozen look of regret on his Godfather's face as he realised he was about to die and leave Harry behind.

That had been the moment Harry had seen this new world, the world within a single moment. When his Godfather had been falling, Harry had wanted so much to never lose his Godfather but it was impossible to stop a man from falling when the inertia was already there and no matter what Harry could have tried wouldn't have been enough.

He didn't see how any human could do this to the world but then again Harry wasn't a human, not since he was thirteen and he'd been knocked off of a bridge by a sleeping driver in the middle of the night in his summer holidays. Suddenly having wings had been a welcome surprise to a plummeting boy even if they had only slowed his descent. It had taken a full week of hiding before he'd worked out he could hide them within his body but that event had changed him too but he'd never made the mistake of admitting that change to anybody. Not his relatives, not anybody at Hogwarts, not even to Sirius.

Harry's smile shifted into a slightly sad one as he remembered his life while staring at that single innocent Butterfly. It's wings flickered once as the sound crashed back around them and Harry's hand snaked forwards and grabbed at Jez's before he could swat it away. Harry grinned at him before reaching over and cupping his hands smoothly around the Butterfly. He lifted it clear of Jez's head before opening his hands. It sat there calmly on his hands, trusting Harry like most animals seemed to always do.

Harry smiled down at it before raising his hands up into the air. The Butterfly flew off into the sun and Harry watched it go, up until the moment that Jez tackled him backwards onto the grass.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Marwell Zoological Society**

Harry arrived at the front gate at eight o'clock on his first day. He'd been told that he'd do alternative shifts. So one day he'd do the later mid-day to ten pm shift and the next day he'd do a five am to three pm day where he'd probably stay the night on site. It was odd hours for him to get used to but if Harry was one thing it was versatile. It would also give him time off in larger chunks.

"Hi." Harry greeted the guard that sat ready to check passes and open the gates into the actual zoo when a staff car arrived. He looked to be about twenty five. "I'm supposed to meet Doctor Mitchell here."

"Oh right." The guard stood up and offered his hand. "I'm Shay and you must be Harry Potter. Doctor Mitchell got called a few minutes ago, he got called to the Primate House. He asked me to take you there."

"Can you leave the gate?" Harry asked, not wanting to be a problem.

"Don't worry about it. They're setting up the visitors booths so they'll keep an eye on it. Besides I really don't do all that much until visitors start arriving." Shay told him with a grin. "You got a car?"

"Yeah, I parked it at the other end of the car park like Doctor Mitchell told me." Harry told him.

"Ok, well we can find you a space in the park later once the good Doctor decides where to stick your office." Shay told him before gesturing for Harry to duck under the gate. Together they began walking up the road towards the enclosures. Harry could hear the sounds of animals all around him.

"Did he tell you what was wrong?" Harry asked eventually as they passed an empty enclosure and then came into sight of an enclosure with three large White Rhinos.

"It's probably just Choto again. He has a habit of being able to open his door from the inside. Nobody can work out how he manages it. He just makes a ruckus until the handlers manage to get a hold of him and put him back." Shay laughed. "He played hell with the Rhinos before though. Got in and sat on Samy's head. He didn't mind but he got a bit protective of Choto and wouldn't let the handlers have him back."

Harry laughed and continued talking to the older man about the park. Shay seemed to know most of the animals by name and Harry soaked in the information knowing that he'd need to learn it all as quickly as possible. They reached the wooden building that housed the Primates and Harry ducked inside when Shay opened the door for him. Inside was a winding wooden pathway between two rows of open topped enclosures housing the different types of Primates.

They walked along listening to irritated shouts coming from further into the building. "What is Choto?" Harry asked.

"A Chimpanzee." Shay told him.

"Figures." Harry shook his head. Chimpanzee's were among the smartest of the animal world with a knack for learning from humans simply by watching them. They were generally fun loving but they enjoyed chaos and mischief.

As they came around a corner they walked into a slightly larger area. A man Harry recognised as Doctor Mitchell from his books was standing side on watching a group of three handlers attempting to get hold of a black Chimpanzee that was sitting on a rafter across the walkway. They didn't seem to be having much luck though as it kept jumping to a new seat every time they tried to get close.

"We're going to have to tranq him, Doctor Mitchell." A shorter woman sighed looking over her shoulder at the Doctor before seeing Harry and Shay standing in the doorway.

A huge grin spread across Choto's mouth and he dropped from the rafter, grabbed it with his hands and swung across the room. He'd crossed the room in a single second and Harry almost froze the scene before realising Choto was heading for him with a happy chatter. Harry tensed as Choto looped his arms around Harry's neck before he span around to piggy 

back on Harry's back. Harry hands came up to grip Choto's even as he shrugged at the astonished looking Doctor and the three handlers.

"Mr. Potter." Doctor Mitchell laughed. "It seems you're making an impression."

"Sorry Sir." Harry told him without much sincerity. "Is there somewhere you want me to put him?"

"Knowing Choto he's not going anywhere." The Doctor told him. "Looks like you're babysitting for a while."

Harry shuddered as Choto chewed on his ear with his lips. "Could be worse." Harry told the Doctor calmly. "He could be a Rhino."

The Doctor laughed before turning to Shay. "Thank you, Shay. I'll take him for now."

"Sure thing, Doc." Shay told him. "You let me know if you need anything, Harry."

"Thanks, Shay." Harry nodded at him.

"Have fun with Choto." Shay laughed even as Choto began ruffling Harry's hair.

"Let's take him to the medical centre." Doctor Mitchell told Harry. "He's due for a check up at any rate and since he seems to like you, you can help me."

"Sure." Harry nodded and let the man lead him and Choto from the Primate House. Doctor Mitchell led him to an open topped Jeep with two seats in the front. Locked boxes in the back seats and two cages in the boot. Harry didn't have to do anything as Choto spun around to hug his front. Harry took the offer of sitting in the passenger seat and Choto sat on his lap. "Is he normally this tame, Doctor Mitchell?" Harry asked the older man.

"I don't think he's ever sat down for so long in one place." The Doctor laughed. "And as long as we're working together, call me David."

"Really?" Harry asked. "Thanks."

"You're lecturers all seem to think you have a gift for calming even the most erratic animals." David glanced at him as they pulled away and headed up one of the roads towards Marwell Hall where all the offices and the main medical centre was. "I see now what they mean." Harry laughed but that soon ended when Choto kissed him right over the nose. David laughed at him.

The medical labs were extensive. There was a reception room that visitors could enter. It was filled with information on what the vets did in Marwell. There was a door on the left that was labelled as a lecture theatre, obviously for talks. On the far wall was a door which was locked with a keypad that said private. David showed him the code before opening the door and leading them through. There was a corridor lined with two examination rooms, a lab and then a storage room, two offices, a staff room, and an overnight holding room clearly designed to 

hold even the larger cats. A door led from that room out into a loading bay for safe transfer of animals.

The corridor led out onto the balcony that overlooked the lower green behind the Hall, there was a playground and picnic benches and off to the left the bird cages and then opposite the Hall was the large Cattle enclosure.

David led Harry and his passenger into one of the examining rooms and Harry managed to get Choto to sit on the table without too much argument. "We've got two other vets working at Marwell at the moment." David told him as he headed for the counter and pulled off his jacket. Harry pulled off his own jacket and hung it next to the door. "George tends to work the later shift and Katie works a daylight shift. One of us will always be on during the night shift with you and we'll be keeping you busy I assure you."

Harry nodded to show he was paying attention even if the man wasn't looking at him. "I'll have Katie show you around when she arrived at nine. She'll take you around the zoo and introduce you to all the animals but I'll be giving you a portfolio of all the animals. I want you to spend your free time going through it. Learn the animals by name and look at their previous records. Will that be a problem?"

"No, Sir." Harry assured him.

"Good. Katie will show you up to the night shift room upstairs in the admin area too and get you kited out in a uniform of some kind and a radio." David continued while pulling on a white jacket and cleaning his hands. He motioned Harry to do the same and Harry did. He was used to this at University. "The radio is yours for the time you work here. You're responsible for making sure its charged. There's a cradle in the night shift rooms and spare batteries in the staff room for your long shifts."

Harry just listened mutely as he continued telling Harry things even though they seemed to come to him at random. Eventually Harry was standing opposite David trying to make Choto stop playing with his fingers. "I'm guessing they've already covered the basics of standard checkups. Taking blood, checking skin, eyes, ears and so on?"

"Yes Sir." Harry nodded.

"Good, when you're around you'll be doing all of that. Katie, George and I will be doing the more advanced tests and we'll try to train you in them too. You'll be left to your own devices if we don't have something planned but always have your radio around since as they get to know you the area handlers will start calling on you instead of us." David told them. "Watch out for a couple of them though, some of them think they know everything about their areas and might argue with what you say. Don't advise a treatment unless you are one hundred percent sure. If you're not sure call one of us. And don't let the handlers argue with you. You're already more trained than some of them. Even said though, some of them know what they are talking about so listen to them."

"Ok." Harry nodded.

"Right, see if you can get a blood sample out of him, Harry." David told him and handed him the needed equipment. "Watch your fingers. Choto knows what they are and he has a habit of biting us."

Harry nodded and took the needle out of the wrapper. Choto was watching him suspiciously as Harry attached the valve to the tube. As soon as Harry reached for Choto's arm and the inside of his elbow Choto jumped to his feet and flapped his hands around. "At least you haven't bitten me yet." Harry told the Chimpanzee calmly. "Now sit back down and this won't take a moment."

Harry reached out to stroke the side of his head and Choto sat cross-legged in front of Harry. It took a few more calming words before Choto let him press the needle into his arm and draw the blood he needed. Harry pulled the needle out a moment later, dabbed at Choto's arm for a moment until he was sure that it wouldn't bleed again. Choto wrapped his arms around Harry again and Harry was forced to lift him up. Harry manoeuvred the primate around onto his back so he could sort out the blood before offering the vial to a silently watching David who grinned at him.

"I think you're going to make life a little easier around here." David chuckled at him. "Let's get through the rest of the checks, get him back to his cage and then Katie can take you through the blood tests in the lab once she arrives. She'll be rather jealous you managed that so easily. He took a chunk out of her last time she tried."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That afternoon**

Harry had spent the morning following Katie around on her work. She was a rather bubbly twenty-eight year old veterinarian surgeon who was the Zoo's surgeon when it came to the animals. She wore glasses like Harry had done before he'd started using contacts but they didn't take away from her face like Harry's done. The silver rims went well with her black hair which seemed to constantly get in her way. Harry liked her open attitude. Plus she didn't treat him like a child like he was so used to.

He'd expected to be treated like an idiot as well but so far he hadn't gotten much of that. There were still a few handlers to meet as well as George but so far it looked good. He'd had a few moments where the head-handlers, as Katie called them, acted like he was just out of pre-school but Katie hadn't been deterred, in fact their few conversations so far about the animals showed that he was well on his way to being excellent in his chosen field.

Harry had come out to eat his lunch that he'd gotten at the park cafe. He'd sat on a bench overlooking the Tiger enclosure which seemed to attract at least a dozen or so visitors at every moment. The tiger hadn't cared about him so far but Harry had never been face to face with one of the Panthera family before but he doubted his normal calming 'powers' would work against something that would quiet happily tear him limb from limb.

Harry didn't know where that effect came from though he had his theories. As far as he could tell everything tied in with his wings. The dark navy, almost black, wings that seemed to reflect the light were a lot of things to him that he wouldn't be surprised if whatever gave him the wings gave him the powers that made him stand out from the world around him. For starters he could only guess that whatever he was allowed him to freeze time like he did. Apart from the obvious ability to fly he also seemed to have a calming effect on animals though that seemed to have its limits. He hadn't been able to calm down the Blast-Ended Skrewts at all.

Added to that was the wings ability to deflect magic. That had taken some testing but after tearing one of his ligaments while dodging a rather peeved Griffon he'd failed when he tried the simple spell to heal it. Lastly was the magic he was most confused about. He felt like he should be able to heal. Like if somebody transfused his blood their own bodies would rejuvenate. The concept plagued his dreams but the few times he'd tried it with wounded animals had done nothing but make them ill.

Harry watched as Jemilikan, one of the female tigers took a twisting leap into the air from one of the rocks in the enclosure. She froze even as the world around him fell utterly silent. Her jaws were just about to close barely an inch short of the small blue and red butterfly daring a crossing of the enclosure.

Harry smiled at the scene. At least time was something he had plenty of.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	2. A Panther's Trust

Temporal Illusion

Chapter 2; A Panther's Trust

_Harry wrestled from Remus' grasp as he reached for Sirius as his shocked Godfather tipped backwards towards the ragged sheets that fluttered over the portal of the stone archway. Remus' painfully strong grip seemed to freeze and he managed to twist out of it. All he could see was Sirius' face change from shock to regret as he lost his footing and tumbled backwards._

_Harry wished only for another few seconds so that he could reach his Godfather. He was running towards the archway and for some reason he found himself standing before his Godfather and the scene had gone utterly silent. For a moment he thought the fighting had ceased just as his own world had ceased when Sirius had started to tumble to his death but then he realised that his own hand was mere millimetres from Sirius' outstretched fingers. Sirius, and the world, had frozen in that moment when Sirius had realised what he was losing. His hand stretched out desperately and futilely towards Harry._

_Harry moved his hand the last few millimetres and his finger's ghosted over the sides of Sirius' own fingers and then the palm of his hand._

Harry cried out in pain as he shot up in bed. He was covered in sweat from his nightmare and his right hand itched at the remembered sensation of Sirius' skin against his. That last fleeting moment that they'd shared together. Harry gritted his teeth and his wandless magic lashed out as tears gathered in his eyes. A vase on his windowsill exploded with a shockingly loud crack.

Harry didn't have the energy to care about the mess and merely got out of bed. He walked straight from his room across the hall, into his bathroom and into the shower letting the warm water sooth his tension. He didn't know if he spent five minutes in there or an hour but when he got out it was to the sound of his alarm clock. He made a detour back into his room to turn off the alarm before going in search of his vacuum cleaner to clean up the mess.

An hour later he was pulling up to the main gates of the zoo. Shay waved at him and Harry managed his first real expression of the day and smiled back as Shay lifted the barrier. He pulled forwards a bit and rested his arm on his door. "How did you find your first week?" Shay asked him.

Harry had worked all through last week from Monday to Saturday staying in the on call room on Tuesday and Thursday night. This week would be about the same doing early shifts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then late shifts on Tuesday and Thursday and staying the nights. The weekends differed, he'd either do a midday shift on Saturday or a late and night on Sunday depending on what needed to be done.

"It was good." Harry told him. "How was your weekend off?"

"Oh, about the same as normal." Shay shrugged. "Had to go visit the girlfriend's parents. Say, Harry, are you alright? You look a bit off this morning."

"Nothing too bad, Shay." Harry shrugged. "Just a bad night."

Shay nodded slowly. "Well, take care of yourself today."

"Don't I normally?" Harry asked. Shay chuckled and stepped back from his car so Harry could pull through the gate and off through the closed park towards Marwell Hall where he could park.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry and Katie were working through the store room checking expiration dates when their radios came to life calling for someone to come across to the Leopard enclosures. Apart from the two of them David was working over by the African animals enclosures with a visiting doctor to look at one of the elephants' legs. _"Katie, Harry? You two go take a look."_

"Okay, David." Katie radioed him back before gesturing from the room. The Leopard enclosures were part of a bank of cat enclosures including Sand Cats and smaller ones. The only cats in a different place were the Tigers and Lions since they needed more territory to roam in. Even though they could have walked the distance they might need the supplies always stored in the jeep so they drove.

There was a large crowd of visitors surrounding the Leopard enclosures and as they pulled up they heard why. One of the Leopards was snarling and hissing at the onlookers rather violently. The crowd split for them and Harry jumped out as soon as Katie had stopped the Jeep and shut down the engine. He headed through the crowd to the fence and saw that Jeka, their female Black Panther, was crouched at the base of a tree hissing at the crowd. She was clearly being more protective than anything else. She'd already been sick by the looks of it and that had probably been what drew the crowd's attention enough to worry her.

"What've we got?" Katie asked a man and woman that arrived at Harry's side.

"She's been at this for the last ten minutes. She was sick yesterday morning and it seems today as well." The man, a Keeper, told them.

"It's in our logs." Katie nodded. They always recorded things like this but with something as dangerous as a Leopard they didn't take tests unless it kept on. "What do you think?"

"Probably just an infection. Give it some time." The Keeper shrugged.

"A crowd shouldn't have her hackles up though." Harry mused drawing their attention. He didn't take his own eyes from the Leopard who slowly turned to see him and stopped hissing. Her eyes almost took on a look of recognition. Like a cat in the wild that see's another hunter that wouldn't be worth starting an argument with. A camera flashed and she snapped her teeth and started to hiss again. "If she was simply ill her instincts would have her retreating to higher ground."

"What are you suggesting?" Katie looked intrigued and even the Keepers were looking interested.

"I think it's something else, she isn't scared like if she was before a Tiger." Harry hummed. "She protecting herself because she can't run."

"She's had no problems apart from being sick." The woman told Harry.

"But she's staying put." Harry turned to Katie. "Is she in the breeding program?"

Katie looked at the male Keeper with a raised eyebrow. "We introduced her to the new male a couple of weeks ago but we didn't observe anything productive."

"We'll do a blood test then to be sure." Katie nodded.

"She won't let us in there that's for sure." The man whistled.

"We'll have to tranq her." Katie sighed. "And we'd better get David over here. I have no idea how much we'd have to use to get her docile enough without risking anything if she _is_ pregnant."

Harry nodded and raised his radio. "David? It's Harry here."

_"Go on, Harry. What is it?"_

"We want to take a blood sample from Jeka. I think she might be carrying. Can you get over here?"

_"I'm on my way."_ David told them. David arrived about ten minutes later in his own Jeep along with the man Harry recognised as the Elephant vet. "What's the clues?" He asked Harry, more testing his thoughts than anything else.

"She's been sick two days in a row now and she's showing aggression towards a crowd though she's not taking the normal measures to hide from a predator if she's ill. She's not climbing her frame or trying to get back inside." Harry told him. "She's simply sitting in the middle of her enclosure."

"Sounds possible but you might be right, we'll need to take a sample. Even if she is ill as well we'll need to treat it if she's pregnant." David nodded.

"We wanted to check with you on dosage before we tranq her." Katie told him. "If she is pregnant she's early stages."

"Too right." David nodded.

"I have done this before." The specialist told David in a heavy French accent. "About a fifth of the normal dosage is the best to use."

"That's barely enough to daze her." The male keeper told him.

"She is too early to use anything else." The man told him. "It will calm her and allow us to hold her down."

"She still won't let us near her." Katie bit her lip slightly.

"We'll need a distraction." The male keeper sighed.

"I'll do it." Harry shrugged.

"You?" David asked.

"I'm smaller and faster on my feet than any of you." Harry shrugged. "Besides she's been staring at me for the last ten minutes."

David jerked slightly and looked between Harry and Jeka. She was going periodically from watching Harry to snarling at any loud noise from the crowd. "You really do have a way with them Harry." David laughed and turned to the specialist. "Harry has a way with all the animals." He told him before turning back to Harry. "But I doubt even you can get close to a Panther without her biting you."

"But I'm the best to do it." Harry shrugged. "I'll distract her and you guys can come through the other enclosure and sneak up on her."

"What about the crowd?" Katie asked.

"The more noise they make the less chance Jeka will hear us coming up on her." David told them. "I'd better talk to them all beforehand to make sure they don't all go silent but don't call out. All we need is one of them to yell and Jeka will turn away from Harry. See him again suddenly and pounce."

"Let's do this then." Harry nodded.

They got ready quickly and soon Harry slipped into the pen house and unlocked and entered her pen which was currently shut off by the solid metal door. He shut the pen door but didn't lock it in case he had to retreat. He wore heavy leather gloves in case she pounced on him. He could use them to cover himself from her bite even if her teeth could go through them with little trouble. Leopards had a strong bite and they normally killed prey his size by breaking their necks between their jaws.

David signalled that they were ready to go and a small yelp came from outside as the tranq dart hit Jeka. Harry waited for two minutes for the tranq to definitely take effect before he slid open the door and slipped out. He left it open and stood up on the outside. Jeka was instantly staring at Harry. Her legs bunched up under her as she shifted her weight for a pounce but her eyes relaxed ever so slightly and she blinked at him tiredly. He circled her to his right so she had her back to the entrance the others would use and they slowly entered. The female Keeper held a tranq gun in her hands and a rifle was leaning against her leg. The tranq gun would have enough in it to put her out in seconds even at the loss of her babies but the rifle was a last resort in case she missed.

Jeka stood in one languid pace and the crowd went silent with apprehension. David, the specialist, Katie and the male keeper went still as well so she didn't hear them. Harry raised his arms to his sides and made a flicking gesture at the nearest visitors to him. Talking started surprisingly fast and he let out a breath of relief as Jeka's ears twitched unable to use her hearing to stalk her prey.

Her attitude proved what Harry thought though. She's already been fed so she'd more than likely have climbed a tree as soon as she saw Harry in her enclosure. Instead she'd gone into hunting mode, she was hunting to protect herself, or more importantly her unborn young. As she took a step forwards a snap came from behind her and she went to turn. Harry clapped and her head snapped back to him before she could see David. She took a hesitant step forwards towards Harry and crouched further to the ground.

Harry met her eyes and something passed there for a moment. She wasn't hunting for food but instead because she was scared of the humans hurting her but her eyes said something different to Harry. There was a long moment where Harry stared at her before he realised that the world had ceased to move around him. He'd been staring into her eyes and he'd moved into this moment where there was just the silent communication between him and Jeka.

Harry wrenched himself out of that moment and sound crashed back around him as Jeka sniffed at him and lifted her head slightly, out of the attack position and into what was almost a position of respect. Harry took a half step forwards and reached his hands out to the sides and forwards slightly. She looked at both of his hands before sitting on her back legs. Harry almost thought in that instant that he could take a blood test himself but he wasn't going to risk such a thing.

Even as he thought it David, the specialist and the Keeper were on her, pushing her front down to the ground. She growled heavily but even a Panther couldn't push up when three people were kneeling on her sides, especially when partially tranquilised. Katie darted in and covered her head with a towel and Harry moved forwards to hold her head in his hands as Katie quickly tied the cloth in place and busied herself with taking the blood sample from Jeka's side.

As soon as she was done she signalled Harry who undid the knot around the cloth and signalled the others. As one they released her and all but ran in different directions. Harry and Katie ran for the pen house while the other four slipped back into the empty enclosure. Harry shut the door to the pen behind him and circled around to where the crowd was. They split apart for him and Katie so that Harry could watch Jeka pawing at her head to rid herself of the cloth. As soon as she was free she looked around firstly at her enclosure and then at the crowd. She snarled angrily at them all and Harry winced.

"I feel bad." Harry sighed.

"What? That was brilliant, Harry!" Katie said. "You actually made her trust you! I've never seen that done before!"

"Yeah, and now she'll think I betrayed her." Harry shrugged.

"Oh," Katie frowned looking at the snarling cat. "Good point."

"Don't worry about it, Harry." David laughed as he overheard their conversation as he approached. "You can bring her a treat later. Well done."

"You are truly a special young man, Harry." The French man told him. "Never before have I seen a cat give trust so quickly."

"I told you he was good." David told him and Harry frowned looking at the rather secretive glance that the two men shared for a moment. "Katie, Harry. Get back to the lab and analyze that. Greg, Fiona, we'll get back to you as soon as we know something. For the time being though put up signs asking for only small crowds around the enclosure and quiet."

"Sure thing, Doc." Fiona nodded. Harry sighed wondering why he was always getting introduced to people after being in bad situations with them.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Jeka's blood test came back positive for all signs of pregnancy and David held true to his word and got a treat for Harry to give to her. It was a high vitamin supplement but she'd enjoy the meat it was wrapped in. Harry brought it to her and gave it to her through the strong mesh that separated her enclosure from the empty next one. He'd then sat on the ground and watched her eating through the small lump of meat and the supplement as she lay facing him. It was a sign of trust in him that she was happy to sit and eat so close to him and Harry felt relieved that there seemed to be no hard feelings after he'd tricked her earlier.

He felt connected to Jeka purely because she had proven that even a Cat could be lured to trust him just like the other animals he'd met. From then on Harry tended to spend his lunches sitting out in the sun near her enclosure and she always seemed to know he was there. She'd come out from her pen or run up a tree to watch him. Katie found it hilarious just as much as George found it peculiar. David just laughed it off and sat for ages at a time talking to Harry about the effect he had on animals.

For the rest of that week he found himself wondering why David was so interested in every detail of his college course and knowledge. He threw questions at him at every moment and it really started to push at Harry's limits to the point that he had to spend every evening off working through his books.

It was during his Saturday night off when he got a surprise visit. He was working sprawled on his bed surrounded by books when his little flat's doorbell rang. He padded out into his living room and over to the door wearing only his jeans. He looked through the peep hole and smiled before swinging the door open.

"Harry!" Jez bounced into the room and swung Harry into a tight hug. Nicky entered with a slightly more reserved enthusiasm but kissed Harry's cheek when he hugged her.

"Hey guys. I didn't know you were coming down." Harry told them before spinning around on the spot in the middle of the room looking for the pile of clothing he'd washed that morning. He pulled a green t-shirt from the middle and pulled it over his head. He frowned down at himself when Nicky laughed and sighed as he pulled the shirt off again and turned it the right way around.

"Perhaps he would have been decent if we'd called from the service station?" Nicky offered.

"What're doing here?" Harry asked.

"Well, if you don't want us..." Jez teased him.

"No! It's great!" Harry grinned back.

"Well you've barely been texting us so we called the zoo and asked when you had time off." Nicky told him with a smile. "Thought you might need some cheering up or something and I've got the weekend and Monday off at the vets."

"So we came down to see you." Jez hugged him again. "Where's the loo?"

"Door on the right." Harry told him. "I swear this place is smaller than my dorm at college. It's just this room and that corridor to my bathroom and bedroom."

"I think it's good for you." Nicky told him once he was alone. "Gives you a new setting but I'm a little worried about you being on your own all the time."

"Ah, there's my girl." Harry grinned in amusement. "I've been too busy to worry about being alone and the people at the Zoo are really friendly. I've also gotten myself a female friend."

"Did I just hear you saying something about a girlfriend?" Jez asked as he came back into the living room. "Please don't tell me you've turned heterosexual. I don't think I can compete against you at Uni."

"She's not my girlfriend. We just get along really well." Harry grinned. "Her names Jeka. I found out she was pregnant. Had to tranq her but we get along well now."

"Tranq?" Jez mouthed the word in shock. "Wait..._what_ is Jeka?"

Harry grinned at being caught. "A Black Panther."

Nicky shook her head as she laughed. "Only you, Harry."

"Oh, Harry." Jez asked as he and Nicky sat on his sofa while Harry made up some drinks for them. "What's with the bed of books?"

"Oh, god!" Harry groaned. "David Mitchell, my boss. He keeps firing questions at me!"

"So does my boss." Nicky raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know even a tenth of the answers." Harry groaned.

"Wow..." Jez laughed knowing that Harry was marginally higher in the class than them both. "That's harsh."

"Well, are we going out tonight?" Nicky asked.

"There's a restaurant down the street, we could go eat there if you'd like." Harry offered. Nicky nodded but Jez looked wounded.

"No clubs?" Jez asked.

"Clubs...no." Harry shook his head and collected their glasses before sitting to pull on his trainers. "Pubs...yes."

Jez grinned happily and Harry stood and looped an arm around his friend's waist. "I'm glad you guys came."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry had to help Jez back into his flat three hours later and let Nicky, who was always the least effected by alcohol open the door for them. Nicky sent him a winning smile. "I'll take the couch. There's no way I'm sharing a bed with him at the moment." She faked a disgusted look and Jez glared at her though he cracked up a second later.

Harry kicked the door shut with his foot. "Are you sure?" Harry asked, "Jez and I could sleep out here?"

"Ever the gentleman, Harry." Nicky laughed. Both her and Harry were a little tipsy themselves though nowhere near as drunk as Jez. "There's no point you two sharing a couch if you've got a double bed."

"Thanks, hun." Harry grinned at her before ducking forwards with Jez on his shoulder to kiss her good night. Jez hugged her and almost fell to the floor. Harry simply laughed and supported him again and pulled him to the bedroom. "I am not undressing you, Jez. You came onto me last time I had to do that."

"You're the gay one." Jez slurred.

"I know, that's the worrying part." Harry laughed and tripped over a pile of his books. He got back up and glared at a giggling Jez before he cleared the bed of more books and turned down the cover before he stripped down to his boxers and got in. He watched in amusement as Jez bounced around the room trying to get his, still buttoned up, shirt over his head. He stumbled and hit the door and a muffled complaint came from Nicky in the other room. Harry rolled his eyes and stood to help his friend. "Pathetic."

"Your fault!" Jez told him. "You brought me a drink."

"Cheap date." Harry laughed and helped Jez find the bed. Harry fell asleep almost as soon as they were both lying with the duvet over them.

_The screams around Harry drilled into his brain with a clarity that he'd never forget. Smoke rose from the ground around him as small fires raged through the grass and across the dead bodies on the ground. Harry had done what he could between the moments but you simply couldn't dodge some magic. His left arm stung even after he'd frozen time to heal it but he went on regardless with Remus at his side and the Order scattered around him._

_Pain welled up in his head and he fell to his knees before he could stop himself. He staggered to his feet knowing that Voldemort was close but a spell tossed him forwards and around so that he landed on the floor painfully. He winced and was about to rise when a silver streak flew over him. Harry tried to stop time but the pain in his head made him miss. He'd never hated failing more than then, when he heard Remus' shocked groan as the silver shard sunk deep into his chest._

_Harry stared at him as he got to his knees over his father's last friend. His eyes were turning red as the silver ate into his body. Voldemort's dry laugh echoed in his mind and Harry's mind went blank with pain._

"Harry!" Harry gasped and shot up in bed sucking air into his lungs even as his ribs burned at the strain of his rapid breathing. His eyes locked onto Jez's and he realised Jez had shaken him out of his nightmare and was now cupping his face between his hands. "Thank god! I've been trying to wake you up for ages!"

Harry sagged back onto the bed and Jez laid down beside him and grabbed Harry's hands tightly between his own. This scene had been repeated a hundred times in their shared dorm at Uni and Jez had never once uttered a single complaint about it. "I'm sorry." Harry told him weakly. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Oh Harry. I know you are." Jez seemed rather sober right then but Harry knew he'd still be hung over in the morning. "Come here and get some sleep."

Harry took up the offer like he always did and lay his head on Jez's chest and wrapped his right arm around his best friend's waist soaking in the comfort he so desperately needed. A comfort that nobody had offered him after Remus had died. The comfort that Ron and Hermione had not even thought to give him. He'd arrived at Uni in desperate need of that sort of care and his new roommate had seen it instantly. Jez had seen in Harry what he had once craved for after his own problems.

Harry fell asleep again quickly while Jez rubbed circles into his back.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Harry was up before the other two as was normal. He took a shower and started on a cooked breakfast knowing that Jez would simply whine if he didn't have hot food to eat with his hangover. Nicky woke up when the smell of cooking bacon reached her and she grunted out a greeting to him before heading for the bathroom for a shower. About half an hour later she was sitting on the other side of his kitchenette counter with a glass of orange juice.

"I heard you last night." Nicky told him sadly. "Have they been getting worse?"

"That particular one hasn't come around since the beginning of the school year." Harry told her honestly.

"Want to talk about it?" Nicky asked for the hundredth time.

Harry offered her a smile. "I know you and Jez will be there when I'm ready to talk about them. Thank you."

"This is why I worry about you out here on your own." Nicky sighed.

"I need to try." Harry told her. "I can't simply rely on Jez to hold me every time I have a bad dream."

"Somehow the term 'bad dream' just doesn't seem to describe your nightmares, Harry." Jez groaned out as he stumbled into the room holding his head. Harry put a plate of hot food in front of him and he instantly perked up. "Harry, you were actually in pain last night."

"I was the last time I had that dream." Harry shrugged.

"You mentioned a name." Jez told him. Harry jerked and dropped the glass of juice he'd been about to put in front of his best friend. Jez was always honest about everything he heard from Harry in his nightmares purely so that Harry knew he wasn't hiding anything from him.

Harry ignored the broken glass for a moment. "Which name?"

"Remus." Jez told him quietly. Harry flinched again and turned his back on them. They both started eating knowing better than to crowd Harry right then. Harry busied himself with cleaning up the broken glass but when he sat between the two of them they both put an arm around him without comment.

"He was my godfather's friend and was sort of an Uncle." Harry told them quietly before biting into the bacon sandwich he'd made for himself. "He was murdered just before I turned seventeen. Just before I left the boarding school."

Jez jerked so violently his arm had to hold onto Harry to keep his balance. Nicky leant in and kissed Harry's cheek gently and Jez simply hugged Harry into his side. "He was friends with my mum and dad at school too." Harry continued, "I suppose they're all in the same place now."

"We're sorry, Harry." Jez let Harry rest his head on his shoulder and kissed his hair.

"The thing that really hurts though is that all four of them died when they were protecting me." Harry sighed and felt both his friends tense up. "I wish at least one of them hadn't."

Neither of his friends said anything and Harry knew they wouldn't. Their actions spoke louder than anything that could be said.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Jez and Nicky spent the Sunday with Harry either shopping, relaxing or at Jez's insistence in the Zoo being introduced to Jeka. It was a good chance for Harry to relax and he really didn't know how he would have coped with that nightmare about Remus without them there. Even so they never spoke another word about it and Jez simply wrapped Harry up in his arms when they went to bed Sunday night knowing that there was a good chance it would prevent a reoccurrence.

At work that week Harry found himself that little bit more relaxed, he'd fallen into a groove at work where he knew which Keepers listened and trusted him and which were better off avoiding when necessary. He'd gotten to the point where he knew most of the larger animals by name and David, Katie and George trusted his ability and let him do a lot of the tests himself.

Harry was reclining in the sun on one of the benches that overlooked the Lion enclosure when his attention was drawn by the pride leader's behaviour. The pride at Marwell consisted of an older male, a younger male, three females and three young cubs. The younger male was kept in a separate enclosure since he was old enough to cause problems. His enclosure sided with the larger one and occasionally the older male and the younger one had brief arguments but they never got violent.

Normally Ketian, the older male, spent his time either sleeping near the three females of his pride or patrolling the enclosure fence. Right now though he was walking backwards and forwards straight across his enclosure and snarling. Harry sat up straighter at the sudden shift in behaviour and checked on Mika, the younger male, to see if it was him causing the trouble. His own behaviour was odd but he was patrolling the closer side of his enclosure almost as if he was looking for a way through to get to his mother, one of the females. But Ketian was turning his back on the younger lion so it wasn't him.

Harry stood and quickly crossed the road having to ease his way passed a boy slightly older than himself as he went passed. The brunet muttered a brief acceptance to Harry's apology that Harry barely caught as he disappeared into the crowd to the edge of the barrier trying to get an idea of what was spooking the Lions so much. They seemed to not be looking at anything in particular but they'd picked up a scent. Harry ducked under the public railing and up to the reinforced bars of the cage before circling it, making sure his park ID was obvious so no visitors got any ideas about following him.

He lifted his radio to his lips and called the big cats head keeper. "Phillip, can you get to the Lion enclosure?"

_"I'm about thirty seconds away."_ Phillip told him.

"They're acting odd. Aggression at the expense of territory." Harry told him. He didn't get an answer so simply began working his way around the enclosure looking for something that could scare a pride of lions. Normally it was a smell, petrol sometimes did it but Harry couldn't smell anything and the lions clearly couldn't find what they were scared of. He was joined by Phillip but all they could do was watch the lions snarl and pace for a couple of minutes before they began to relax. Something had clearly spooked them but they couldn't find anything. They ran a chemical test of the air and the ground to be sure but nothing relevant was picked up.

In the end both him and Phillip gave up and signed if off as a freak occurrence.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry was working with Annette in the Giraffe den, she was one of the new Keepers specialising with the African animals, and the two got along quite well. They'd been set the task of taking blood samples from two of the year old Giraffe's which meant getting the adults used to them and letting them stab needles into the two younger ones.

Harry had the samplers in his back pocket and was using everything placating gesture he could as they moved around the Giraffes. Giraffes were generally rather calm creatures and mostly silent, but the bulls would defend the young if they felt they were threatened. That held true in the wild and in captivity though in the zoo the Giraffes were used to humans and tended to ignore them.

Harry soothed the younger of the twin bulls while Annette stood at its side, watching the older bulls and females, and holding the younger one's side in case he didn't like what Harry did. Even though they were being watched by ten or so visitors Harry slipped out the sampler and gently pushed it into the young bull's neck taking what he needed before pulling it out and closing the end. He pocketed it and stroked the bull on the neck. He hadn't reacted at all to the treatment and Harry laughed when he got a lick on the face for his efforts.

Annette laughed at him and there was a spread of laughter from the visitors who had been watching everything they did. Harry pulled out a piece of wrapped up chocolate from his pocket and took off the foil before giving it to the young bull. He did the same to the other bull before he and Annette squeezed through the thick bars that separated the Giraffes from the visitors. He nearly bumped into a man as he jumped the visitors barrier and thanked the brunet when he was steadied.

"Thanks." Harry nodded to him.

"Sure." The confident tone made Harry grin.

"Harry!" Annette called. "Come on!"

Harry chuckled dryly, nodded to the polite man and jogged off after Annette into the private offices that overlooked the large hanger like pen that held the Giraffes. It had its own lab and Harry would do the basic tests on the blood here. They were only checking the basic things like immune responses and blood composition. Also traces of toxins and so on. All things that Harry could do with his eyes closed. Or not, since he needed a microscope for some of it.

"Who was that you were talking to, Harry?" Annette asked as Harry was starting the second set of tests forty-five minutes later.

"Who?" Harry frowned without looking up.

"The cute guy just then?" Annette prompted. "Brunet, tall and so hot."

"Just some visitor I suppose." Harry shrugged.

"You can't say you didn't find him hot." Annette accused.

"I didn't really pay that much attention." Harry shrugged.

"So you don't deny it?" Annette laughed at Harry's confused look. "The rumours that you're gay. People saw you with that guy on Sunday."

"If you mean Jez he isn't gay. We're just friends." Harry told her with a raised eyebrow.

"So you're gay?" Annette asked. Harry shrugged. "Damn, you've just gone and broken every girls heart in this place."

"You're strange." Harry dead-panned. She just laughed at him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry was sitting through his lunch break on his Saturday day-shift when he spied somebody that caught his eye. He was the tall brunet that had steadied him at the Giraffe enclosure the day before and now that he thought about it Harry had seen him by the Lion enclosure on Thursday too. He'd been the man that Harry had dodged passed when the Lions had begun acting strange. And now that Harry thought about it he'd been around all week, just wandering around. Harry had spotted him by Jeka's enclosure a few days ago for starters.

"Hey there." Harry greeted as he was about to walk passed.

"Oh, hi." He didn't sound as confident this time. "Do you work here?"

"I'm a college student on apprenticeship for the summer." Harry shrugged. "Just wanted to say hi. I keep seeing you around here."

"Is that strange?" He asked with a confused grin.

Harry shook his head in apology. "I don't mean offence, it's just we don't normally see people two days in a row."

The man's grin turned into a brighter one and Harry felt himself warming to him. He had shaggy light brown hair, pale blue eyes like crystal and fine tuned features. "I've been here all week. Studying animal behaviour."

"Officially?" Harry frowned. "You know we do programmes and stuff?"

"Nah." The guy laughed and Harry smiled. His laugh was crystal clear and warm and it seemed to sooth Harry. "I'm here for more personal reasons."

"Oh, I see." Harry nodded. "Fancy taking a seat?"

The guy frowned for a moment before seeming to come to a decision. Harry thought he almost saw resignation flash across his face before he nodded and sat. "Thanks."

Harry offered his hand. "Harry."

There was the slightest of pauses before the brunet reached out to take Harry's hand. "Cameron."

Harry was about to speak when their hands met. Harry gasped and saw a brief look of shock pass across his face. Sharp tingles flashed up Harry's arm forming goose bumps across his skin. Cameron quickly let go of his hand. "Sorry, must have been a static shock." Harry smiled gently and rubbed at his hand. Cameron was frowning but seemed to accept the explanation after a moment. He was obviously a rather suspicious guy.

Harry knew there was more to it though. He'd almost opened his wings at that touch but he couldn't tell if it was the feeling of freedom or for the feeling of protection they provided him.

"So, what do you do here?" Cameron asked in the sudden silence.

"I work with the park vets." Harry told him. "It's a good gig, I'm a first year student doing veterinary studies. I could introduce you to a few of the animals if you'd like." Harry was almost surprised by his invitation, he barely knew the guy.

Cameron was clearly surprised too. "Really?"

"Sure. I spend most of my day walking around anyway." Harry grinned gently. "As long as I do my work my boss won't mind."

"Uh..." Cameron almost seemed about to refuse but then nodded with a rather unsure smile on his face which didn't match his earlier confident manner. In fact that seemed to have completely vanished after that mishap with the hand shake. "Sure, why not?"

Harry nodded and rose. He was about to ask what interested Cameron the most when he heard his own name in the busy radio chatter. _"Harry, do you have the time to come down to the Primate House?"_

"Er, sure..." Harry frowned. "Why?"

_"Choto's made good on an escape."_ The voice told him. _"I'll meet you outside the main entrance."_

"I'll be right there." Harry promised before turning to Cameron. "Sorry about this, you want to come?"

"Escaped animal?" Cameron raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Oh yes, Choto's very dangerous." Harry laughed and saw Cameron's earlier anxiety vanish. "So, you coming?"

"Will he try to eat me?" Cameron asked.

"Nah." Harry shrugged and gestured along the path. Cameron fell in beside him though seemed to keep a small distance between them. For some reason Harry felt a stab of hurt at that. "We keep our animals pretty well fed. Normally the dangerous ones just maul people to death when they get out."

Cameron actually stumbled slightly at that remark but didn't seem to know what to think of Harry's joke. Or he was trying to work out if Harry really was joking or not. "I'm just hoping Choto isn't a Ridgeback." Cameron told him. Harry flashed him a grin before they turned the corner and the Primate House came into view. A man outside the entrance waved at Harry.

"Harry." He seemed to sigh in relief. "We haven't closed the house but we're watching the doors. A visitor said they saw him loose in the third area."

"I'll go see if I can get him." Harry nodded. "Save us bringing in a team and sedating him again."

Harry pushed open the door and led a still nervous Cameron into the building. "Again?" Cameron asked.

"Oh, Choto has a habit of opening his pen door." Harry laughed. "Personally I think he steals the keys when a Keeper goes in, unlocks the door for later, and then puts the keys away again before anybody notices."

"Wouldn't it be best to change the door to one he can't unlock?" Cameron asked clearly looking around in case Choto leapt out at him.

"And take away all his fun?" Harry faked a horrified look before they came across a family, a couple and two children. "Excuse me, you haven't happened to notice a black Chimpanzee running around have you."

"Oh, no." The man told him. "Is that normal?"

"Oh don't worry Sir, he's harmless." Harry assured them before nodding and heading away. "Choto hasn't been passed them."

"How do you know they didn't just not see him?" Cameron asked.

"Choto likes children." Harry grinned. "Maybe they taste nice?"

"Now you're just trying to wind me up." Cameron rolled his eyes. "Chimpanzee's don't eat people."

Harry grinned. "There you go spoiling all my fun. Besides I meant that he kisses them on the cheeks."

"You're horrible." Cameron laughed.

"Maybe." Harry shrugged and turned a corner and stopped abruptly. Choto was sitting on the back of one of the benches that dotted the indoor walkway that led through the enclosures. Two children were stroking him. "Choto!"

Choto looked at him in surprise and disappeared backwards behind the bench. His head came up after a moment as if to see if his hiding place had worked. "I can see you Choto." Harry laughed. "Come here."

Choto disappeared against and jumped onto a twelve year olds shoulders like a piggy back as if to say 'save me'. "Is he dangerous?" The boys' mother suddenly sounded concerned.

"Oh, he's harmless." Harry assured her with a smile. "He just doesn't like the toys in his enclosure as much as the people out here." Harry crossed the walkway and tapped Choto on the head before taking one of his meekly offered hands. Choto swung around to sit on Harry shoulders and hugged the top of his head. "You are not off the hook, young man." Harry admonished. "I'm sorry about that." Harry apologised.

"It's ok, he hasn't done anything bad." The woman assured him. "How did he get out?"

"Oh, he has his door lock worked out very well." Harry shook his head sharply since Choto was pulling at his hair. "If he was any sort of threat we'd have moved him somewhere he couldn't escape from but the only problem he causes is to me, since I'm the only one he'll listen to around here."

"Well, now that we know his name why don't you three say goodbye to Choto." The woman turned to her sons. The two younger ones grinned and bounced away from the bench. Harry pulled Choto off his shoulder but kept a hold of his hands as he put him on the floor so the two younger boys could say goodbye. "It's so nice for them to be able to actually touch the animals."

"Unfortunately a lot of the animals, even the normally gentle ones, can become aggressive when hurt. Choto will bite if somebody hurts him that he doesn't know." Harry bit his lip. "The Giraffes are very friendly though, if your older son puts one of the younger ones on his shoulders one of the Giraffes might bend down to say hello. And the Meerkats will do almost anything for a crisp and they won't bite unless you tease them."

"Thank you." The woman nodded.

"As a rule, if the animal is close enough to touch you can." Harry told her before hefting Choto back onto his shoulder. "Let's go take you for a walk. I think a check up in the vets will be punishment enough don't you, Choto?" The Chimpanzee hugged his head as if trying to soften Harry up. "Not going to work this time or any other. I fell for that once and you stole chocolate from my fridge."

The woman and older boy laughed and Harry bid them farewell before heading for the exit. He stopped for a moment for the couple and three children to show them Choto when the youngest child got excited before going out to find the Keeper from before who grinned and laughed at him.

"You want me to put him away for you?" He asked Harry.

"Nah, don't worry. I'll take him up to the lab for a while. If I don't spend some time with him he'll just escape tomorrow. You know how it works." Harry sighed.

"Good on you, Harry." The Keeper laughed and headed away in amusement.

"You seem to have a reputation." Cameron spoke up for the first time since they'd found Choto. Choto jumped around and burrowed into Harry's chest. Harry glanced at him in confusion but brushed it off as another attempt at a trick. Harry had been aware of Cameron's presence for the last ten minutes like somebody was aware of a fire in a room. Like heat beating against the back of your neck even when you couldn't see the flames.

"Yeah well. It's not all it's made out to be." Harry groaned. "I have to babysit this menace whenever he decides that his enclosure is too small for him. So far I've found him feeding the Lions chips stolen from a visitor, from a distance mind you, he isn't that courageous. I've also found him sleeping on an Elephants back, stealing food from the Pygmy Hippos and once he took a bath with the penguins."

"I see what you mean." Cameron laughed.

Harry reached the main labs and decided that since it was just him and Katie in at the moment he could get away with bringing Cameron in. Again that thought surprised him but for some reason he felt safe around Cameron, not just safe as in not worried about the person hurting you, but actually safe from the entire world. Harry dumped Choto on the lab table and Katie walked in a moment later and laughed herself into hysterics.

Harry saw that Cameron was watching her in surprised confusion like a person wondering whether singing monkeys were a normal thing. "Who's this?" Katie asked once she'd recovered from seeing Harry with Choto.

"Oh, Katie this is Cameron. He's studying animal behaviour and since this wasn't an actual task I didn't think it would be a problem." Harry left it open to her.

"No problem. Are you in one of the classes though? I didn't think there was any on this weekend." She asked him.

"No, ma'am." Cameron shook his head, looking surprisingly less sure of himself when talking to her as if waiting for her to start laughing again. "Just personal study. I've been here all week."

"Oh right." She nodded, at a loss for anything else to add. "Harry, David called an hour ago. There's a member of the board visiting next week and he wants you to show them around on Monday."

"Oh come on, Katie!" Harry groaned. "I'm supposed to be learning to treat animals, not showing some pompous idiot around the park!"

"Yeah well, the board member requested somebody with a wide range of knowledge about all the species of animals and that means a vet." Katie told him with a twinkle.

"So why do I have to show them around?" Harry countered. "You, David and George would do a better job at it."

"But it's my day off, David has the early shift and George the late which means we don't have spare time to show people around." Katie smirked at him.

"You evil, evil person." Harry mock glared at her.

"I'm sure it won't be so bad." Cameron tried.

Harry looked at him with a wounded expression. "Spending hours answering inane questions from some old windbag with too much money that really isn't interested in the answers beyond trying to sound important. Not to mention they'll treat me like some kid."

"You _are_ a kid." Katie pointed out.

"Not helpful." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Maybe it won't be so bad." Cameron shrugged.

"Easy for you to say." Harry muttered. "Come on Choto, you're going home." Choto jumped on his back and nibbled on Harry's ear but Harry just ignored him and left the room with Cameron on his heels.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That evening**

Harry spent the afternoon going between showing his new friend around the park and doing his own jobs. When Harry finally left the park, Cameron told him he'd probably see him on Monday. Harry had told him that he'd happily show him around again and introduce him to what he could but reminded him that he'd have to look after the board member. Cameron had told him it wasn't a problem and then let Harry go with a rather amused smile on his lips.

Harry found himself lying in bed thinking about Cameron. He'd seemed like a nice enough guy and he had to agree with Annette when she'd called him hot on Friday but there was also something mystical about him that Harry couldn't shake. He didn't believe his own static-shock excuse from when they'd touched and had avoided it for the rest of the day just in case it was something to do with his magic. He'd also found himself having to open his wings as soon as he got home because they'd been itching to get out all afternoon. In the end Harry resigned himself and rolled over to set his alarm clock for four hours time at two so he could go out for a fly in the dark.

He rolled onto his front and opened his wings. In the dark they were completely black but when out in the light they took on their real dark navy colour. In his small bedroom he could only open them completely when he stood near to one wall. He couldn't open the almost ten metre wings span fully anywhere in his apartment and it really annoyed him that he hadn't stretched his wings in weeks. Being only five foot ten his wings combined were over five times his height in length and he knew that only that span and his light bone structure and toned muscles allowed him to get up into the air. It took a lot of effort to start off with until he could find a thermal current to glide up on but in Harry's opinion it was well worth it.

He fell asleep with the comfortable weight of his wings on his back.

_A'Zia walked through a crowd of men slowly working their way up the temple steps to lay their offerings at the bottom of the throne. A'Zia was the only one heading up that carried nothing in his arms. The other men laboured with baskets of fruit, gemstones and even gold fragments they must have spent months collecting._

_A'Zia took it all in as he travelled up the steps. Apart from his lack of offering he blended in. He was naked apart from a loincloth around his waist as were all the men there. The few women of the city below wore about the same but the children wore nothing more often than not._

_A'Zia had seen bigger and smaller cities yet humans were always the same. Eager to please those more powerful than themselves and their fear of being hunted and killed meant it was easy for his own race to hide among them when the need arose._

_A'Zia reached the top of the steps and stopped as he came into view of the throne. To the sides of the throne sat beautiful creatures with harsh, intelligent, eyes that roved over every human there. They were all cats of one kind or another but even such prideful predators seemed enamoured with the being on the throne. That was the one A'Zia was most interested in. His Elders had told him never to come near one but A'Zia's curiosity had gotten the better of himself._

_He looked perfectly human to A'Zia except he didn't care enough to even wear a loincloth and he clearly wasn't ashamed of himself. His eyes swept through the figures around himself without a care in the world but then stopped on A'Zia. The eyes changed to a solid black in a second and he rose tall from his chair. His guardian cats rose with him._

_A'Zia's__ eyes widened but he was too slow to dodge as the being before him dashed towards him. A'Zia spread his wings and just caught sight of a trio of stubby black horns on the beings head as he was flung clear of the temple and out into open air._

Harry almost screamed in horror as he pushed off of the bed. His wings ached to surround him and he stumbled off the bed, wrapping himself tightly in dark feathers and warmth even as he started shaking. "What the fuck was that?" He hissed through his teeth.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Monday**

Harry had slept through his alarm Saturday night but managed to get out into the sky on Sunday night to make up for it. Even so he was still not a little bit off when he arrived for his day shift on Monday. For starters he couldn't get the imprint of that naked man with the horns out of his mind, nor the sense of fear he'd felt as A'Zia, whoever that was. If he hadn't simply imagined the whole thing. All he really knew what that he'd dreamed about the Inca's and he'd been a winged being called A'Zia who he'd felt immensely connected to.

Not only that but he was now waiting on this board member and his family. He was under firm instructions to not let them out of his sight and to give them a good time since the man had made a very generous donation to the breeding programme they ran at the park.

Harry was standing just at the edge of the Penguin pool near the entrance where he'd been told to meet his tour. It was actually Cameron that he spotted first as he entered the gates and started towards him but he soon realised with a dawning sense of horror that Cameron was following an older couple and had two young girls with him.

"Oh shite." Harry hissed before biting his lower lip. His guests had arrived, the board member, his wife and three children, one of which was Cameron. He plastered a rather strained smile across his face as he stood from the wall to greet the man. "Mr Drache. My name's Harry."

"You're the vetmed student assigned to take us around today?" Drache asked.

"Yes Sir." Harry nodded. "It'll be a pleasure."

Drache was interrupted by a coughing fit from his son but Harry refused to look over. The coughing seemed to remind the man about his family though. "Of course, my name's Lonan Drache, my wife, Acete and my younger children, Cameron, Elizabeth and Sophan."

Harry greeted Acete, Elizabeth and Sophan with a winning smile but ignored Cameron because he didn't think he could look at him without setting the slightly older boy off. He seemed incredibly amused right now. "Well, Sir. There is a route we could take that includes everything or we could walk the outer ring and I'll tell you what we can sidetrack to. I believe the Hall has set up a buffet for yourself and a presentation at lunch time but if you'd like me to take Cameron, Elizabeth and Sophan to the cafe for something I don't mind."

"I think we'll take that offer." Lonan told him. He didn't really seem that interested in Harry, only what Harry was talking about. It was a level of social politeness that Harry couldn't keep up with. Harry would almost go so far as to say that the man reminded him of the way Lucius Malfoy had looked down his nose at any half-blood or muggle-born. "Let's walk and you can make suggestions. I'm sure Elizabeth and Sophan will be interested in just about everything."

Harry gestured behind him to the penguins. "We've also got three types of seals here as well. I can't point them out by name but I can tell you about them if you'd like." Sophan bounced passed him and leaned over the low barrier to look at the nearest small penguin.

"I believe that means yes." Lonan told him and gestured him towards Sophan. Clearly he wasn't fussed about hearing the explanation himself. Harry followed Sophan to the wall and Elizabeth joined him a moment later. He led the girls near to one of the gates before slipping inside. He waved briefly at one of the keepers who took one look at him and the suited man a distance away and nodded. She motioned him to one of the slightly younger ones with a nod of permission.

Harry pulled on the gloves he always kept on him and picked up the small penguin and brought him to the gate. "I don't think your father would like you touching him." Harry smiled at the girls and Cameron, who was standing behind them. He launched into a rather brief explanation of the penguins but only kept to details that the girls would be interested in. He was just finishing up when the female keeper, Annabelle, taped him on the shoulder.

"I'm just about to start a talk on the seals if they want to listen in." She offered. Harry flashed her a grateful look and nodded. He relayed the information and the girls scurried back to their father.

"Old windbag?" Cameron smirked at him. Harry felt rather betrayed though he knew he shouldn't be. "Pompous idiot?"

"What do you want from me?" Harry almost snapped before forcing a polite look across his face. "My apologies, did you have a question?"

"Oh, don't do that." Cameron snapped.

"Why not?" Harry asked as he vaulted the wall between the penguins and the seals just as Annabelle started her talk. Cameron had to walk almost five metres away before he could rush back. "So far he's treated me just like I expected."

"He's used to hired help." Cameron shrugged.

"Oh well that excuses him." Harry rolled his eyes. "Look, Cameron. I'm sorry for insulting your father but you do realise board members and their families are supposed to notify the park staff they are here."

"I did." Cameron shrugged. "They just let me walk around on my own."

"_I'm_ park staff, Cameron. You should have told me, before I went and opened my mouth." Harry retorted.

"I didn't want you treating me like some V.I.P." Cameron shrugged. "And don't turn this against me."

"I'm sorry. We'll go back to my making an idiot of myself." Harry told him.

"Ok. I don't care what you said. I can imagine how much of a pain this would be for you." Cameron shrugged. "Besides I didn't even tell them I was talking to you in the park last week."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"The hired help issue." Cameron gave him a devilish grin and Harry felt himself warming up again. His concerns about his dream on Saturday night simply vanished but his anxiety to fly came soaring back to him and he gave a small twitch of his shoulders that Cameron frowned at. "So, we've made friends in front of my father and everything so you can stop ignoring me now."

"I was _not_ ignoring you." Harry defended. "I was trying to avoid looking at you so you didn't burst out into laughter."

Harry spent the day showing the five around the Zoo taking them into the pen houses where possible, or more often than not it was just the three children, if Cameron could be called a child. The parents rarely listened to his explanations and only got slightly interested when they were near the more dangerous animals who seemed to have picked something up in the air since even Jeka wouldn't calm down for Harry that day.

He took Cameron, Elizabeth and Sophan to the park cafe for fish and chips for lunch to the girls' glee but to his relief Lonan seemed pleased with his efforts for the day when they parted at the Hall in the evening so that their car could pick them up and take them back to their hotel.

He felt a small pang when he realised that the family were leaving England in the morning but Cameron's family proved one thing to Harry. He was well out of his class and Harry's dreams were simply proof that he had far too much on his plate at the moment.

He shook Lonan's hand as he parted ways with them and Cameron reached for his hand. Harry hesitated but figured he'd blown his own thoughts on the last time out of proportion and reached for his hand just as the rest of Cameron's family turned their backs on them. This time his vision seemed to flash and his arm tingles almost painfully. He had to wrench his hand away and shake the blurriness from his vision. When he'd finished he found himself being stared at by a pale and shaky Cameron.

Harry opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out as Cameron turned and fled for the car his family were piling into. Harry shook his head in a dazed sort of shock before resolving to try to forget about all of this. Cameron clearly planned to. Harry didn't know how he felt about that.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	3. Vampire Fangs

Temporal Illusion

Chapter 3; Vampire Fangs

**Colden Common Hotel**

Cameron sat in his hotel room near the balcony window. He had a view away from the motorway of course, his father would never have settled for a room looking out across the M3. He'd moved a chair up to the window and now his forehead rested against the glass while his eyes staring out at the town and the trees in the distance. Part of his mind refused to stop wondering where Harry was.

He was officially a wimp. One that could run from his Soulmate just because he was human and Night World law said that if he loved a human they'd both be killed. And that if he told Harry about the Night World they'd both be killed. Those were the two laws but the more he thought about it the more he wanted to simply not care about them and run and find Harry, tell the guy everything that was supposed to be kept a secret and hope that Harry didn't reject him for what he was. Second son of the First House of the Shapeshifters.

His family had enough problems already. With the witches on the verge of seceding from the Night World Council both sides of the boiling civil war were looking to his father to make his decision. Cameron really hadn't cared which side his father chose but now he wasn't so sure. He had friends in Circle Daybreak and his father knew it but his father was still part of the Night World Council and that meant that if he found out his son was in love with a human he'd have no choice but to kill him and Cameron hadn't Chosen yet so he couldn't protect Harry from whatever was thrown at him.

He needed advice and he knew only two people he could trust with something like this. His older brother, Galen, was one but Galen would be breaking the law by not telling their father and he didn't want to cause his brother trouble. The other was Tamarack, a member of Circle Daybreak. She'd be able to protect him. She'd come without a question. Maybe she could talk some sense into him and make him realise it was all in his head.

Now he just had to find a way to tell his father he was staying in England.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_A'Zia crouched lightly on the top of a ridge. His bare feet lightly placed on the weathered side of the sandstone and his left hand placed between them. His dark blue wings, his prideful span, sat loosely folded on his back, the wind gently blowing through the feathers making a dull humming sound and sending little tremors through his muscles._

_Almost an arrow shot to his side sat his battle-mate, Cal'va, his white wings arched over his head rather than folded. They were watching the ensuing battle within the valley. Thousands of humans and hundreds of Witches fought together against the three Amaru. His own race had never needed to name them, nor had they ever named themselves but the humans preferred to name those their revered and those that built the temples to these creatures called them the Amaru._

_All across the world the young Witches had rising up to remove the Shapechangers and their rulers from power but Witches and even their human allies were weak and the Amaru didn't fear them._

_But they feared A'Zia's race. A'Zia's village had been destroyed by the Shapechangers and his people scattered across the world just like the rest of his race but they'd retaliated, split up to roam the world and kill the rulers of the Shapechangers and the Witches had taken the chance and risen up with their magic. In that way A'Zia's race had led the world into rebellion._

_A'Zia and his battle-mate Cal'va had seen nothing of their kind for five years now, not since the Great Fires. This battle would be the last, A'Zia knew, where his race and the Amaru would finally end their ongoing war. But if the Witches failed then all would be lost._

_He arched his wings and Cal'va tipped off the edge of the ridge. A'Zia followed and the two glided down to the battle hoping that with their last breaths the two of them could turn the tide._

Harry shot up with a gasp and his wings stretched out of his back before he could stop them, sliding magically through his skin without pain, only the relieving sense of freedom. His wings arched behind him ready to either open or wrap around him. His chest was heaving and his body dripped with sweat that had nothing to do with the summer air. His arms wrapped around his stomach as his eyes unfocused. His head throbbed and he had trouble separating A'Zia's reality from his own.

When he finally managed to sort out his thoughts he haphazardly made his way through a shower and then out to make himself a late breakfast. He had a late shift today but still he was surprised when he looked at the clock after tidying his apartment to find he was already running late.

As he drove to work he couldn't believe how long ago yesterday seemed to him. He could remember showing around the Drache family as if it was from a lifetime ago, he's almost forgotten about Cameron and the fact his budding friendship or more had vanished as the other young man left for America. It seemed so long ago because his head was filled with the life of A'Zia. Not even just the things he dreamt about last night but everything to do with his life. And it felt like his mind was filled with the collation of thousands of years of life hidden only by a thin fog.

He couldn't shake the sense that he was as much A'Zia as he was Harry Potter.

He pulled up to the staff entrance and was about to get out and open the gate himself when Shay emerged from the ticket office. "Sorry about that, Harry."

"It's okay, Shay." Harry nodded closing his door again. "I was just about to get it myself. How the day going?"

"It's a carnival day." Shay smirked. "You've got your work cut out for you today."

Harry groaned and settled his head on his steering wheel. He'd forgotten about that. It was a day when the place was filled with entertainers, exhibits and general mayhem. It was a day that tended to attract youth groups by the hundreds. As if his day wasn't bad enough already. "Thanks for the warning." Harry told the security guard.

"You alright, Harry?" Shay frowned. "You don't look good."

"Just having a bad day is all." Harry shrugged. "Weird dreams and a headache."

"Well, take it easy." Shay tapped the door before turning and lifting the barrier for Harry to drive under. Harry waved out the window lazily as he drove off, moving slowly to let people move out of his way. He took the long way around to avoid the busier parts of the Zoo and finally found himself at the Hall almost half an hour after his shift was supposed to have started. He grabbed his night bag, locked his car and more or less ran for the offices.

He came face to face with David as soon as he got into the corridor and winced at the stern look. "Harry, it's a late shift. Don't even try to blame sleeping in."

"Sorry, Doctor Mitchell. I lost track of time." He decided to be honest.

"You look a little off." The stern look turned into one of concern. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine." Harry told him. "My head feels a little full is all."

"George is in the back room. Get him to give you an injection for it." David told him with a worried look. "You sure you'll be okay. If you need to go home..."

"No!" Harry shook his head. He really didn't want to be home, alone, without anything to distract him from his thoughts. Already, whenever he closed his eyes, he saw flashes of ancient battle fields. "Sorry. I'd rather be here to be honest."

"I like it." David laughed. "And cut the Doctor crap even if you're trying to be meek."

"Sorry." Harry winced.

"Go on then. I want you over in the reptile house in thirty minutes. You've met Zachery before, he wants your help with a few talks." David told him.

"What? Stand and hold them up?" Harry asked.

"It'll be a good chance to get to know them. Reptiles aren't really my specialty and George and Katie aren't exactly snake friendly. Zachery's really good and you can ask him anything you want." David told him.

"And he suggested this?" Harry prompted.

"The rumour mill is working." David laughed. "He wants to know if your gift spreads to his hobby."

"Great." Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'm on my way upstairs. I'll take your bag up to the on-call room if you want." Harry handed the bag over with a grateful smile. He slipped through into the labs and found George setting up the table. A carrier sat on the table with one of the Sand Cats in it along with Jennifer, one of their handlers.

"Nice of you to join us, Harry." George grinned.

"I've already had it from David, George." Harry groaned.

"Hey, I wasn't going to say it." George laughed. "Did he tell you that Zachery wants you?"

"Yeah. Could you give me something to get rid of this headache?" Harry asked him. "David said you could."

"How bad is it?" George asked. "You don't look brilliant."

"I feel worse." Harry told him before turning to face him, leaning his back against the table. The carrier jiggled as the Sand Cat tried to get out and Jennifer laughed and swatted the cage. The Sand Cats always chased Harry around the edge of the cages whenever they saw him. George moved in front of him getting Harry to roll his eyes around, rather painfully, and then he felt around the back of his ears and across his throat. Checking the normal symptoms of his headache to find out the degree.

He nodded and moved to the refrigerator, took a box to the counter and returned thirty seconds later with a needle. Harry rolled up his arm and let George wipe at his arm before giving him the shot. Within seconds Harry felt the pressure in his head dull slightly and the heated skin of his forehead cool almost as if cooled water had been poured across it. He sighed in relief.

"Thanks, George." Harry told him.

"Stay out of the sun, Harry." George suggested. "I'm not in tomorrow but Katie's got the early. I'm sure she'll swap nights with you if you need her to."

"I'll talk to her in case I do." Harry promised before rubbing his hands together. "Let's go play with the snakes."

George chuckled and Harry slipped out of the room, deciding to walk across the park and get some fresh air and see the chaos. There were crowds everywhere and he passed almost a dozen groups of children, from scouts and guides to county sponsored events.

"And there he is!" Zachery was a tall man of about thirty-five who was obsessed with anything to do with Reptiles. He grinned at Harry as soon as Harry let himself through the code-locked door and into the back of the Reptile house. It was one of the few places where the visitor section was smaller than the staff section.

"Here I am." Harry shook his head.

"Ever held a snake before?" Zachery asked.

Harry couldn't help but think about the snake he's set on Dudley by accident and then the Basilisk. "Only dead ones in class." Harry told him instead. In truth he'd rather be in the visitors section where the thick glass of the pens shielded his ears from the snakes' words. Back here he could hear an almost constant hiss of sound, most of which were non-intelligible mumblings.

"Well, let's find one you can say hello to." Harry had to cover his shock at the statement. He'd have to be careful not to speak while looking at one. He hadn't tried to use that particular gift in years. Zach led him towards one of the open pens. Most of the ones here were set up so you could access the back of the pens that the visitors could see into but there was also a dozen private pens where the snakes could be put in for special occasions. Before taking them out for display for example, or for treatment or rearing.

When they came to the pen and looked down Harry didn't have to be told what it was. He knew he shouldn't know but for some reason the knowledge was there in his head, suddenly revealed from behind the lingering veil of fog. "Antaresia Maculosa." Harry spoke as he looked up at Zachery who paused while lifting the five foot snake from the tank. "Spotted Python."

"Exactly." Zachery grinned. "Impressive, kid. What can you tell me about it?"

Harry was about to say he didn't know anything about it when he realised he did. Even as he stopped his head mid shake he spoke. "They come from Australia, non-venomous, they prefer small bats in the wild but the large ones should eat small mice."

"This one happens to like mice." Zachery nodded. "I didn't expect you to know so much though."

"Nor did I." Harry muttered.

"What?" Zachery asked even as he held the python out to Harry.

"Nothing." Harry took the python and it instantly started sliding around Harry. It's head went over his left shoulder and then across his back and down his right arm until the tip of its tail wrapped around his left arm and it's head doubled back and found the opening in Harry's short sleeved t-shirt. "If this thing starts tickling me, I reserve the right to laugh."

"So do I." Zachery chuckled. "It seems the rumour's true though. He's taken a liking to you."

"Wonderful. As long as he can't escape like Choto." Harry groaned. Zachery laughed.

"Let's introduce you to the other five we're showing off so you know enough to answer questions." Zachery nodded and led him away. For the next three hours Harry juggled six different snakes that all took a liking to wrapping themselves around him while he showed them off to visiting groups. He could hear the snakes purring their contentment to the pampering but he never had trouble with an attempt at escape like one of the other keepers did since the snakes seemed to prefer him to freedom. What really creeped him out was that the snakes seemed to take a liking to pushing their heads down the back of his shirt to lick and rub across the skin where his wings were hidden as if they knew where they were.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

He had trouble doing his work for the rest of the day, even with the snakes he was distracted even amongst a hundred playful children. It only got worse when he was left to wander on his own devices. David was in meetings for the rest of his middle shift, Katie went home at the end of hers and George was busy running labs leaving Harry to be on 'patrol' around the Zoo, waiting to be needed. After wandering around trying to keep his mind off things and only ending up walking into the fence he ended up sitting in the Aviary section lost in his thoughts with the radio chatter as his only company.

He was occasionally distracted from his musings by a group of people but most of the small groups just took him for somebody on lunch and they were all more interested in the eagles and falcons in this section than anything else. His mind was filled with flashes of things he thought he should understand. He thought his knowledge of snakes came from a slave who worked for a Vampire by caring for his extensive snake collection. Surprisingly it took him a while to realise he should be shocked about Vampires.

He could vaguely remember ordering Roman soldiers into battle, standing under a sky filled with flashing lights and the sound of airplanes, firing an arrow down off a castle wall at attacking men, playing the violin in front of an audience of what looked to be Napoleonic men, women and children.

It all seemed to be instances within a longer time frame and even though they came with sound and even smells he didn't feel attached to them all. Not like he had with A'Zia in his dreams.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Nicolas was panicking. There was no other way to describe it and the three slaves that he saw that morning knew it too. His hair was a mess, his green eyes were dull, his harsh cotton trousers and vest were in disarray and his face was pale and rather sickly looking. All because he'd lost his Master's prized snake. Or at least the nastiest of the look. So what if the snakes liked him. Seten, the snake, didn't seemed to care that he'd run off and left Nicolas to take the blame for him. His Master was going to kill him and that wasn't an exaggeration in any sense of the word._

_He'd come into the Manor early that morning to begin milking the snakes when he'd turned to Seten's wicker cage and found the side broken. He'd spent hours running around trying to find him without luck. Even some of the other Slaves, knowing what would happen to him, tried to help but Seten had simply vanished._

_He was trying to rush across the main hall without being noticed by the other Vampires and Shapeshifters of the household when a strong hand grabbed him around the throat and he felt hot breath on the side of his neck. He couldn't keep in the shocked whimper as his neck bruised under the tight grip but he knew better than to struggle._

_"Were you trying to hide the fact you'd lost Seten?" His Master hissed into his ear, loud enough so that everybody there could hear him. Sixteen Vampires, eight Shapeshifters, three Witches and even a Werewolf. A part of his mind realised that his Master had planned a hunt, and the rest of his mind focused on the fact he'd be the prey if his Master decided on it._

_He tried to voice a plea but the hand simply tightened on his throat cutting off his air supply. His blurry eyes just focused on a smirking Jastor, a slave that hated everything about Nicolas just because Nicolas' sister wouldn't love Jastor back. Right then he knew what had happened, Jastor had taken Seten to get Nicolas in trouble._

_He was being carried by the throat out of the front doors and into the sunlight and then he was being thrown down the steps. He felt his arm snap like a twig and he cried out in pain. There was laughing from the Night World people around the court and the slaves shrunk away, all except for Jastor and Aileen, his sister, who stared at the scene in horror. Jastor leered at him and his hand settled on Aileen's shoulder possessively. He saw her try to struggle away and Nicolas knew that as soon as he was gone Aileen wouldn't be able to keep Jastor at bay. The bastard would force her to be with him and he couldn't do that to her._

_He scrambled to his feet and took several steps away from Hunter Redfern, his Master, who just sneered at him. "You'd better start running, it's more fun that way." His Master sneered and everybody laughed again._

_Nicolas looked around desperately. He wasn't looking for a way out now, just a way to save his sister, being held in place not ten feet away, blocked only by a Shapeshifter with a sword. The sword. Nicolas' eye settled on it and Hunter saw it._

_"Give it to him. He might as well try to defend himself." He was laughing again and so were the others. Nicolas grabbed the sword as soon as it was thrown at his feet. It couldn't hurt the Vampires but Nicolas didn't even think to use it for that. He lunged to the left before anybody could realise it and the sword passed his sister's side and plunged into Jastor's chest, right up to the hilt._

_Jastor gave a shocked cry as he looked at Nicolas and then down at the fatal blow before he crumpled to the ground. "Nic!" Aileen cried and tried to reach for him but at that instant he was yanked around and he only just saw the flash of Hunter's fangs before they sunk into his tender neck. Nicolas couldn't help but scream as his blood drained out of him painfully but with his last breath he mouthed the words 'I love you' to his sister and reached out his hand._

Harry fell straight out of the on-call bed with a horrified yelp and instantly scrambled backwards into the wall. His wings exploded from his back and wrapped around him, struggling to do so with his seated position. He wrapped his arms around his knees and sobbed loudly. This wasn't like before with A'Zia, he wasn't a graceful being but just a simple human slave laughed at and killed by a Vampire just because a twisted slave had wanted his sister's obedience. He remembered everything about Nicolas. He was Nicolas just as he was Harry and A'Zia. He was a slave in a Night World conclave off the east coast of America in the early fourteen-hundreds and he'd died a horrible death to spare his sister from being raped.

He shivered violently in the corner, scraping at his neck trying to get rid of the feeling of Hunter's teeth in his neck. Again he couldn't find himself surprised that there was a civilisation of Vampires and Shapeshifters and even that there was an entirely hidden world of Witches and Werewolves that together with the others made up the Night World. The knowledge of its existence was there in his mind and he couldn't shake it. He'd been killed by a Vampire Lord in a past life. It was the past life that freaked him out and the fact he could remember dying. Having the last drop of his blood sucked from his neck because another slave had framed him for losing a snake.

He felt warmth at his neck and pulled his hand away to realise he'd drawn blood from where he'd scratched at his neck. The sight of the blood on his fingers drew him out of his terrors and he pulled himself to his feet and his wings disappeared into his back. It was early, only four but the sky was lightening and he knew it would only be a few hours before Shay arrived. In the end he took a shower in the Hall and went into the canteen to make a light breakfast before he decided that he wanted comfort. He collected the keys for the Primate House and made his way there.

He passed a security guard on the way as well as one of the contractors who cleared the park up. Choto was more than happy to see him and take a trip out of his pen and he wrapped himself around Harry's back in a piggy back after prodding at the red scratches on his neck and deciding not to touch them again when Harry yelped. Harry had cleaned them and they'd stopped bleeding but the side of his neck was swollen and red and the four wide scratches were rather obvious. He left a signed note in the office of the Primate House to tell them he had Choto before he left to walk towards the front security gate.

Shay was there by the time he arrived and he went from laughing at Choto around his neck to worried about the scratches on Harry's neck. "What the hell happened to you?" He gasped as Harry walked into the office and sat on the table. Choto swung onto his lap and onto the floor, picking through the bin and neatly stacking the stuff on the floor.

"No idea about my neck." Harry lied. "I think I must have been bitten by something in my sleep and scratched at it without waking up."

Shay looked dubious but accepted it. "Still looks painful."

"I've treated it but it's sore." Harry shrugged. "I'd rather air it than cover it with a plaster."

"Well, you're the expert." Shay shrugged and snatched a half eaten sandwich from Choto before he could eat it.

"You know the rules, Choto." Harry admonished before reaching out to stroke the back of his neck.

"Did he escape?" Shay asked.

"Nah, I let him out." Harry shrugged.

"You need the company?" Shay asked.

"A bit." Harry admitted. In truth he was terrified of being alone with his thoughts right at that moment. Choto seemed to detect Harry's mood and jumped into his lap and demanded a kiss and a hug. Shay laughed and mused Harry's hair as he gave in to the demands, pretending to be irritated just so Choto didn't get the idea that he could constantly demand it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry spent the rest of the day trying to concentrate on his work but his mind constantly went from A'Zia and Nicolas' life to Cameron and occasionally he managed to pull it back to his work or to what Katie or David were telling him. When David had arrived he'd demanded that Harry let him check the scratches to his neck but didn't do more than clean it again and tell Harry to stop beating himself up in his sleep. Harry almost protested that it wasn't his fault a Vampire had been killing him but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

When he finally got home he simply collapsed on his chair with a strong dose of Paracetamol and before he knew it his struggles between his identity and that of A'Zia's and Nicolas' slipped into sleep.

_A'Zia was badly wounded, his wings were in tatters and his skin was drenched in his own blood and that of the battle that had now ended around him. Cal'va's crumpled form lay before his kneeled form and A'Zia smoothed his friend out and gently folded his limp blood stained wings around him. He caressed his battle-mate's wings sadly knowing that the powerful appendages would never disturb the air again. His own wings, he knew, would never again carry him into the sky but one day, whether it be in a decade or an age, they would carry him into the air once again._

_The battle was ended, the Humans and Witches were the victors and A'Zia saw in them a future to the world. He stood slowly and turned to look at the multitudes that were staring at him. He knew that to them he was a being of frightening power, never seen before by any of them but A'Zia had no way to escape them now, he had no kin to return to. He was the last and all his deeds were his own to bear from his childhood thirty years ago, to the day he had foolishly let his curiosity take him to the seat of power of an Amaru and passed that to this very day when he and his battle-mate had given their lives to aid these Witches and Humans in saving the world from the Amaru._

_They approached him and his broken wings tried to raise but only twitched. An older Witch came forwards escorted by another Witch and a Human. A'Zia knew nothing of their language and they knew nothing of his own. The Witche stopped before him and reached out slowly towards his wing._

_A'Zia shook his head to show there was nothing to be done. He touched her on the forehead gently and knelt down gently at his battle-mate's side. His own body was failing yet the pain meant nothing to him now. He knew that these people would hide the sleeping Amaru where none could find them and he knew they would clean and bury his body alongside Cal'va's. It was an honourable way to end his lifetime._

_Until his grandmother's declaration came true. Until his soul returned to the world in another body. He would be the only one of his kin to live forever._

Harry didn't wake up violently this time. A'Zia's eyes had closed and Harry's had opened with a shudder than ran down his entire body. Tears spread down his cheeks at the memory of his battle-mate's death. Harry had an answer now as if so many people were telling him it. He was an Old Soul. When he died his Soul moved into a new life, sometimes after only a few months and sometimes after thousands of years. He had first been A'Zia and now he was Harry Potter and somewhere five hundred years ago he'd been Nicolas.

And he knew that every time he dreamt he'd learn more about what he'd been and half of him was petrified about that and another part of him was fascinated. He wasn't just a used weapon but something beyond all of that. He could honestly say that he'd experienced the worst parts of life and the best. But the part of him that was still Harry felt cheated, though relieved, that now he had experience, but it hadn't come to him when he needed it but when his life was finally turning out to be a good one.

If he'd known about A'Zia and Nicolas and who knew who else before could he have seen through Voldemort's trap or saved Sirius. A'Zia had been able to live in the moments, all of his kin had been able to, but Harry hadn't know what it was when he used it the first time to try to get to Sirius. He'd frozen time with the intention to touch Sirius one last time and such a desire had failed him because he hadn't known how to control it properly. He'd slipped out of the moment before he could try to rescue him. Their hands had touched only for Sirius to slip backwards out of his reach.

He needed somebody to talk to. Somebody who would believe him and comfort him and keep him from his horrors. He knew he'd lived hundreds of times but he knew he'd have died just as many times and a part of his mind pointed out that some of those times would be like Nicolas' heroic, yet painful, death at the hands of Hunter Redfern. He'd end up losing his mind if he had to go through that alone.

_"Harry?"_ It was Jez' voice and Harry was almost surprised that he'd sat up, reached for his mobile and dialled his best friend at midnight.

"Jez?" Harry knew he almost sounded like he was whimpering. "I need you."

_"Harry!?"_ Jez was moving already though Harry didn't know what he was doing. _"Are you okay? Are you in trouble?"_

"I'm safe." Harry promised him. "But my life's getting too much. I need to talk to you. You're not going to believe me, you're going to think I'm going insane but I know you'll hear me out."

_"Harry!"_ Harry shut up. _"Calm down. I'll leave as soon as I can and be there by the time you wake up. Try to get some sleep. I've got the spare key you gave me so get some rest. I promise I'll be there before you know it."_

"Jez..." Harry sighed. "Thanks."

_"You don't have to thank me, Harry."_ Jez assured him. _"Just hang tight."_

 Jez hung up and Harry collapsed on the sofa again, he didn't have the energy to get to his bed. He'd have to tell Jez everything. About Wizards, about his wings and his powers, about the memories and other lives. He needed somebody that knew what was happening to him even if they thought he was insane.

Before he knew it he was asleep again.

_Ryn crouched defensively with his arms around the twins, Keb and Darn, two boys who hadn't been able to get out before Maya and her faction had started killing people. Maya was staring him down with a disgusted look. Ryn was just a Human but he'd grown up in a tribe where more than half of them were Witches and now most of the rest were what Maya had turned herself into. Ryn had grown up with Maya and her sister, Hellewise, as his own sisters. His mother had been killed in a wolf attack when he was barely talking and Hecate had taken him in._

_It had been several years before they realised that Ryn was special. He had the memories of another within him, an ancient warrior that they had only heard of from tales of the old wars between the Dragons and the Witches._

_Maya had twisted herself and slowly turned some of both the Witches and Humans of the tribe into what she called Vampires. This morning Hecate had called a halt to Maya's perversions but Maya had refused to listen and the Witches and Humans were forced to fend Maya and her new warriors away. Now Ryn found himself squared off against Maya and he had two five year olds to protect. His spear lay at his feet but he'd seen Maya's speed, he'd be lucky to get it off the ground, let alone be able to use it._

_"You were always pitiful, Ryn." Maya told him._

_"You remind me of another race, Maya." Ryn narrowed his eyes._

_"You're a mere mortal this time, Ryn. You don't have a chance against me." She slowly moved her hand through her hair, pushing it over her shoulder as if all of this bored her. "None of you do."_

_"Maybe not but not all of those you changed agree with you. Thierry didn't." Ryn smirked as she lost her cool. Thierry had been another their age, the first that Maya had bitten to pass on her curse but instead of being grateful he had run, leaving the tribe before he could make a mistake and hurt another. "You can kill me, you can even kill Keb and Darn," he tightened his arms on them reassuringly. "But you'll never beat me."_

_"You'll be dead." Maya snorted and regained her cool._

_"Maybe, but you'll know you lost because Thierry rejected you." Ryn had barely finished when Maya was leaping through the air. Ryn didn't try for the spear, instead he twisted his body to put himself directly between Maya and the twins. He felt her hands grab him but then orange light flared and she was being thrown backwards away from him._

_"This has to stop, sister!" It was Hellewise's voice and it had a hard edge to it that Ryn had never heard before. He turned and stood, pushing Keb and Darn behind him as he picked up his spear. Hellewise was standing firm a dozen feet from them and Maya was glaring at her angrily, glaring at the ball of orange energy held between her palms. "Call off the others and we'll settle this between just us two. If I win you and your kind leave this place, leave the tribe and our kin forever."_

_"You can't stand against me any longer, Hellewise." Maya sneered._

_"But if you fight her now, you'll have to fight me too." Ryn spoke up._

_Maya looked at him in disgust again before snarling at her own sister and turning on her heels, in a blink of the eye she was half way to the trees and then she was gone. The rest behind her. Hellewise sighed out and her fierce energy vanished. Ryn held her closely as she cried that afternoon and that night Hellewise left the camp and beat Maya even though it cost Hellewise her life._

_Ryn cried at her side as her last moments drained away and he buried her with the rest of the dead from that day._

Harry shuddered awake again and felt hands around his shoulders shaking him. It was Jez and he looked scared as he stared at Harry's face. Harry reached up and pulled Jez to him in a tight hug. Jez shifted them so he was sitting on the sofa and Harry was in his lap. Jez had always been amazed by how light Harry was but it came in useful sometimes.

Harry came back to reality a few minutes later but at least this time he wasn't scared, only sad for the death of what amounted to his sister and part of his tribe. "Harry, what's happening to you?" Jez asked and squeezed him tightly. "This isn't one of your normal nightmares."

Harry pulled away from him and pulled his knees to his chest. "I need to tell you something, Jez. About my past."

"Harry, you know you don't need to if you don't want to." Jez told him. "Me and Nicky know you were..."

He trailed off as he saw Harry shut his eyes. "It isn't just that, Jez." Harry leaned back on the chair and put his head on the back as he looked at the ceiling. He was having trouble separating himself from the entity that was Ryn, who'd stand between a Vampire he'd grown up with and let himself die because it was the right thing to do. "Do you believe in magic, Jez?"

"Not really." Jez told him with a small shrug.

"What if I did something magical right now?" Harry asked. "If I promised I wasn't tricking you would you believe it was magic and not some illusion with mirrors or something."

"Harry, I know you." Jez told him. "If you told me that magic was real I'd believe you thought that."

"But you'd have to see something to believe it for yourself." Harry pointed out.

"In which case, if you told me it was real I'd trust you." Jez frowned. "Why are we talking about this, Harry?"

Harry sighed and looked around him, trying to think of something within his restricted arsenal that he could do. Really the only thing he could do with any rate of success was telekinesis. He reached out a hand and after a second a mug on the draining board scraped along the counter before jumping off the edge and into Harry's hand. Harry turned back to a staring Jez and handed him the mug. Jez took it without thinking and looked between Harry and the mug in shock.

"So I'm telling you there's such a thing as magic." Harry shrugged. "That's really all I can do now but I used to be really good."

"Used to be?" Jez frowned.

"There's a World hidden from our own, they have their own towns and schools. They call themselves the Wizarding World. They use Wands to cast spells. My parents were Wizards but an evil Wizard murdered them when I was fifteen months old. I was put with my Aunt and Uncle and didn't know I was different." Harry paused. "They thought I was a freak and... well..."

"I know, Harry." Jez sighed. "You don't have to go into that bit."

"Okay," Harry nodded. "When I was eleven I found out what I was and went to a boarding school in Scotland where they taught magic. I was the only one that could defeat the Wizard that killed my parents so they wanted to turn me into a weapon. I lost the two adults that really cared about me. One when I was fifteen and the other when I was seventeen. There was a war and I had to fight. I killed the murderer but I didn't want to fight anymore."

"I can imagine." There was no dubiousness in Jez's voice. He listened to everything and took everything in as gospel. Trusting Harry implicitly, no matter how surreal it all sounded.

"Even the two that were supposed to be my best friends wanted me to continue fighting for them. When I refused they started to talk about forcing me. And it wasn't just them but the government too. I was just a weapon to them." Harry sighed. "So I left my wand with a friend and left that World forever. I can do a bit of magic without my wand but only really when my emotions spike."

"That's... awesome." Jez whistled. "But why are you telling me this now?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, Jez. But I wanted to just leave that life behind and never look back." Harry sighed. "But everything is coming apart."

"About that old life?" Jez asked.

"No." Harry shook his head. "But I needed you to know that. There's another World that lives within the normal one and has done for thousands of years. They call themselves the Night World and it's made up of Witches of a different kind, Vampires, Shapeshifters and Werewolves. They hide from us and the penalty for any human that finds out about them is death."

"How do you know about them?" Jez frowned. "Are you one of them?"

"No." Harry shook his head. "I don't use my magic so I'm a human. Without a wand I really don't have any powers."

"But you said you were a Wizard." He frowned.

"Wizards use Wands to cast their magic but they're the same as Humans really. Take away their Wands and they really can't do anything." Harry shrugged.

"So how did you find out about this Night World?" Jez pressed. "Did you meet a Vampire or something?"

"I keep having dreams." Harry folded forwards and curled himself up on the sofa. Jez's hand settled on his back and made small circles there to comfort him. "I think I'm what the Night World calls an Old Soul. Every time I die my Soul is reincarnated into a new life and sometimes I remember what I am and other times I don't."

"Sometimes you do?" Jez blinked and Harry wondered how it was possible that Jez was taking all this in without freaking. "Like this time?"

"I keep having dreams about past lives. I remember living a life as a Slave to a Vampire in the fifteen hundreds. I remember being a member of a tribe twenty thousand years ago." Harry sighed.

"And of course you're reliving your deaths?" Jez guessed.

"God." Harry choked. "I remember having my blood drained by a Vampire."

"Oh, Harry." Jez hugged him tightly.

"You believe me." It was a statement not a question.

"Harry, you're my best friend and my brother and you've got no reason to lie to me." Jez pointed out. "You've proven magic is real so the rest is possible."

"Jez." Harry looked up at him. "You're amazing you know that, right?"

"I know." Jez grinned.

"Jez, there's more." Harry sighed and stood up and pulled off his shirt.

"You're not about to tell me your in love with me right?" Jez smirked. Harry rolled his eyes and opened his wings watching Jez's eyes widen and his mouth fall open as he stared at the dark wings in the already darkened room. "Okay, you're not in love with me. Harry? What are those?"

"I'm guessing they're wings." Harry winced and opened them as much as he could in his small apartment. "I got them when I was thirteen. A sleeping driver ran me off a bridge in the middle of the night. Having wings was a welcome surprise."

"Oh god, Harry." Jez stood up and reached out with shaking hands and stroked his wings. "It all sounds unbelievable."

There was acceptance on his friend's face, there was no sign of rejection or disbelief. Harry realised he'd slipped into the moment again and he figured he might as well use the opportunity. He folded his wings and slipped around his friend and once behind him Harry moved out of the moment. Jez tensed and looked around wildly looking for him before he turned in a circle and saw him.

"I can freeze time." Harry shrugged. "It comes with the wings."

"Uh..." Jez raised his eyebrows at him. "That's kinda cool."

"Jez, are you okay with all this?" Harry asked nervously.

"Oh, Harry." Jez laughed. "You were always strange, I just didn't realise how strange."

Before Harry could realise what was happening Jez stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around him, slipping his arms under Harry's wings. Harry's response was instinctual, his wings spread before wrapping around them both like a cocoon. Jez chuckled and squeezed him tighter.

It was still early and Harry wasn't on till the late shift so Jez pulled him to his bed and forced him to try to get some sleep. Harry had trouble falling to sleep but with Jez at his side he managed it after almost an hour.

_Ryn hid behind the tree as Thierry ran passed him. He'd followed Thierry to this place and watched as the Three Rivers tribe had captured him and then the girl, Hana, had helped him to escape only to have the others of her tribe recapture them. Thierry had lost control and Ryn had been forced to watch from a safe distance as he lost his sense of right and wrong and tore through the warriors of the tribe as if they were nothing more than children's toys. The girl, Hana's, death had been the moment when Thierry snapped out of his lust for blood and he had run straight passed Ryn in his haste to escape._

_Ryn followed him for an entire day, merely trying to keep up with him and ran into a clearing in the dead of a full moon lit night. Thierry was sobbing in the middle of the clearing. His wounds had fully healed but his sobs sounded like that of a dying animal. Ryn slowly approached with his deadly spear levelled and ready before him._

_Thierry didn't look up until Ryn was merely a few feet from him and he scrambled to his knees. "Ryn! Kill me!"_

_"Not if I can help it." Ryn told him. "I saw what happened."_

_"Then you have to kill me!" Thierry sobbed. "I loved her. I love her."_

_Ryn frowned. "Come Thierry, return to the tribe with me. Come home."_

_"I can't go back now." Thierry cried curling forwards and rocking._

_"Hellewise gave her life to banish Maya forever, Thierry." Thierry shuddered and looked up at him. "Hecate sent me to find you and ask you to come home. Please Thierry."_

_Thierry looked up with desperation in his eyes and Ryn felt only sorrow for him. He knelt in front of Thierry. "Come brother. Come home with me."_

_Thierry shuddered but nodded again._

Harry's memory seemed to blur and he thought he'd almost woken up but Jez's soothing warmth sent him back into his dreams again.

_Ryn hefted his spear in a cross block as soon as he saw the shadows move. He'd been on his way back to the tribe after a day's hunting when he'd seen her. Maya stepped out of the shadows and sneered at him. "You're not welcome here anymore, Maya." Ryn told her emotionlessly._

_"You can't stop me." Maya told him with disgust. "You're a mere Human and I'm more than you can ever imagine."_

_"Are you trying to scare me?" Ryn asked. "I fear what you are, Maya. But I don't fear you."_

_"You're a fool!" Maya hissed and her eyes glinted at him in anger. "I could kill you before you know I've moved."_

_"So why haven't you?" Ryn glared. "Stop wasting my time."_

_"I want to know where you hid Thierry." Maya sneered._

_"You can want all you like, Maya." Ryn shook his head. "I'll never betray Thierry like you betrayed us."_

_"Tell me!" Maya yelled, too loud. They were close to the tribe and it was daytime. People heard her. She turned one way and then the other. "You'll die right now if you don't tell me!"_

_"Then at least I'll die knowing I did something with my life. All you've done is throw away those that loved you." Ryn barely manage to shift his grip on his spear before Maya was right in front of him. Her hand closed around the spear and snapped the hard wood like kindling before her other hand pushed his head to the side. Before Ryn could realise what was happening teeth sunk painfully into his neck. It wasn't a gentle intrusion but a massacre of his neck. She tore at skin and flesh with her teeth and Ryn felt himself cry out in pain as she drained him of his blood._

Harry screamed as he shot up in bed, inadvertently pulling Jez with him. He was once more covered in sweat and shaking and his wings itched to escape from his back, to shield him from Maya, who just like Hunter Redfern had killed him.

Jez was in front of him, shaking him almost violently and the movement brought Harry out of his terrors. His wings finally opened and wrapped around them both in a high arch that left them in complete darkness. "Tell me about it, Harry." Jez ordered him. "Tell me who you were and what happened. If these are past lives you need to accept them as a part of you. If you fight them they'll tear you apart from the inside."

Harry sobbed but started talking, telling him about the three dreams about A'Zia, the two about Ryn and finally about Nicolas. He told him about the flickers of images he got.

"I'm coming to work with you." Jez announced after ten minutes of silence.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I'm coming to work with you." Jez said slightly louder and slower. "I don't know where all of this is going but I'm sticking with you until it's over. Now, how about letting me out? I have no idea what time it is."

Harry laughed but finally opened his wings. They both had to squint as the light from the window reached them. It had to be almost midday and he only had a few hours before his shift started. His wings completely blocked out the light.

They both took showers and by the time Jez was out Harry had a cooked lunch ready for them to eat. It wasn't until they were in the car on the way into work when Harry brought up the last thing on his mind. "There's a principle that exists in the Night World." Harry told him. "They call it the Soulmate Principle. The idea that everybody has a single person that is perfect for them in every way."

"Why are you bringing this up?" Jez asked. "Loads of people believe in Soulmates."

"It's not just a belief in the perfect partner." Harry shook his head but didn't take his eyes from the road. "This is part of a power beyond anything else. I've seen it before, it joins people at the Soul level, their minds are linked and the death of one always drives the other mad."

"Okay..." Jez frowned. "So you've seen this before?"

"I..." Harry frowned. "I think so. I mean I'm not sure. Something tells me it's never happened to me before."

"So you bring it up now because?"

"I met this guy that kept visiting the Park. His dad is one of the more important Board Members." Harry glanced briefly at him before pulling off the road into the Park. "Every time we touched it sent shivers through me and when I'm with him I'm happy. And my wings want to open around him. And he knows something is up because the last time I saw him we touched and he ran."

"That doesn't sound like you're perfect for each other." Jez pointed out.

"It's hard to describe but I've heard about the symptoms before." Harry paused at Jez's incredulous look. "Okay, I think I've heard of them before. Give me a break."

Jez laughed as Harry pulled up to the gate and Shay leaned on his open window. "Hey, Harry. Who's this?"

Knowing Shay hadn't been in the last time Harry smiled at him. "This is my best friend Jez. I don't particularly trust him around my house and he surprised me. Can you get him a Visitor's Pass?"

"Sure Harry." Shay nodded. "Name?"

"Jeremy Pascal." Harry told him ignoring Jez's complaints at the use of his real name that he didn't like being called. Shay disappeared into the office and returned a minute later with a printed visitor's badge. "Put that on, Jez. Thanks, Shay."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

No matter how much Harry wanted Jez to stay with him for the night it wasn't allowed. Jez and Nicky were both on his insurance so Jez drove his car home for the night and promised to come the next day to see him. Harry dreamt again that night but rather than the single dream he was visited with snapshots from a couple of people. A Samurai in the early thirteenth century Japan called Imazato who'd died protecting the Emperor and an African scout in the thirteenth millennium BC who'd died in a rock fall while trying to stay ahead of an enemy army.

He took Jez's advice and took a shower and then sat out in the rising sun by the Lion enclosures as he let himself study his new memories, or at least the memories he'd always had that he was only now remembering. It was getting harder to see himself as just Harry Potter. He was Harry but he was now also A'Zia, Ryn, Nicolas, Imazato and Tona and he knew he was barely touching the surface of all his lives but now it didn't scare him so much. Dying didn't scare him anymore. He'd already done that so many times.

He was sitting on the grass with an open Mammalian Physiology book on his lap studying when a shadow fell over him. He looked up expecting a visitor with a question since he was still wearing his uniform but instead he found himself looking at a sunlit Cameron. He knew his eyes had widened and he let himself lean backwards onto his arms so he could look up without straining his neck.

"Hey, Harry." Cameron smiled that rather unsure smile of his.

"I thought you were going back to the States?" Harry frowned. He knew he wasn't completely successful in keeping the regret out of his voice.

"I decided I like England better." Cameron tried for humour.

"Really?" Harry asked. "Because last time I saw you, you couldn't get away from me fast enough."

Cameron looked shocked at his forwardness but Harry found it hard to be coy about it when he had so many memories in his head and when he knew now that Cameron was his Soulmate. "I..."

"Sit down, Cameron." Harry snorted. "Don't you think we should talk?"

Cameron frowned but sat down opposite Harry. "You're not being gentle about this." Cameron laughed but then looked directly at Harry and their eyes met. Cameron gasped before he could stop himself. "There's something..."

"Why are you here, Cameron?" Harry asked when Cameron didn't continue. "Why did you stay?"

"I..." Cameron stumbled. He was trying to find something to say but he couldn't get away from Harry's eyes. It was as if all the toying of before was gone and now everything was serious but Cameron wasn't the one that had changed, it was Harry. Cameron could see the change in Harry's eyes. There was a depth there that he'd never seen in another being.

"I've see a lot in my life, Cameron." Harry told him. "But nothing compares to what I've been through since I met you for the first time. Do you have _any_ idea what I'm talking about?"

"What do you mean, Harry?" Cameron asked wincing even as he spoke.

"Okay, how about another question?" Harry caught his eyes again and reached out with a hand. "Do you know what's happening between us?"

Cameron pulled his hand into his chest, further from Harry's hand. Harry sighed and pulled back his hand. "Why don't you just leave then, Cameron?" Harry snapped. "If you don't want me just go back home!"

Harry stood in one smooth movement, not caring that it was with the grace of Imazato that he moved, and turned with his book held to his chest. He was ten steps away before Cameron thought to stand.

"Harry!" Cameron yelled, uncaring about all the others watching. Harry stopped at the gate and turned to look at him and Cameron ran to catch him up.

"Why are you scared?" Harry asked him.

"Because they'll..." Cameron wrenched himself to a stop, clearly horrified about saying that without thinking.

"Because they'll kill me?" Harry asked.

"How...?" Cameron recoiled so fast Harry thought he'd tip straight over.

"So I'm right?" Harry asked. "You're Night World?"

"How do you know about it?" Cameron almost hissed but Harry could see the fear in his eyes, the concern for Harry. He was utterly petrified.

"I think we shouldn't have this conversation in the open." Harry muttered and turned and started walking. It took Cameron a moment to catch up but when he did he walked almost three feet to his side, keeping enough distance from Harry that they couldn't possibly touch. Harry led him up through the park to the Giraffe enclosure and down the lane that separated the Takhi Horse enclosure from the outer park fence. He led Cameron over a locked gate before following the inside of the enclosure fence.

"Is it safe in here?" Cameron asked.

"They're just horses, Cameron." Harry assured him. "This is the only place where you can see anyone coming from any direction."

Harry stopped suddenly and sat on the grass against the fence. He stretched his legs out in front of him but then pulled one up and rested his head on it. Cameron remained standing, looking every bit like he wanted to run. "Cameron?" Harry asked eventually. "Can I be blunt?"

"I think you were rather blunt before." Cameron whispered. "You could be killed."

"Are you going to tell somebody?" Harry challenged.

"Don't you get how dangerous your situation is!?" Cameron almost yelled. "They kill Humans that find out about the Night World."

Harry looked directly up at him. "I know that Cameron."

"How!?" Cameron gasped. "I don't know how!"

"I'm an Old Soul, Cameron." Harry decided to just come out and say it. "It's all in there, thousands of years of lives all filling up my head. They plague my dreams like screams in a small room."

"An..." Cameron stuttered looking at Harry's face, at his eyes. With an explosive grunt he collapsed down to sit beside Harry. "I know."

"You know what?" Harry asked.

"That you're an Old Soul." Cameron sighed. "At least I think I knew, when I saw you earlier. You look so much older."

"I feel so much older." Harry sighed. "I had the first dream the night after I first met you. I think you triggered it."

"What's in there?" Cameron asked.

Harry shook his head. "I don't... I can't yet, Cameron."

"It's okay." Cameron sighed.

"Am I right, Cameron?" Harry asked. "I think I've seen Soulmates before but it's never happened to me. When we touched before... I felt like the whole world was opening up to me."

"I've never met somebody who found their Soulmates but I heard it was happening more frequently." Cameron nodded.

"What are you, Cameron?" Harry asked suddenly.

"I'm a Shapeshifter." Cameron told him with only a small pause.

"Drache." Harry shuddered and he turned with shock to look at him. "I'm an idiot. I didn't have the memories until after I met your father. He's..."

"The King of the Shapeshifters?" Cameron asked and then nodded. "I'm part of the First House."

Harry's eyes unfocused as he thought but then his eyes snapped back onto Cameron. "That's why all the animals were freaking out when I showed your family around. And the Lions were agitated when you were around. I bumped into you in front of their arena when I was trying to work it out."

Cameron nodded. "Harry..."

"I don't care, Cameron." Harry shook his head. "If you think I'll freak about it then you're wrong."

"How are you taking this so calmly?" Cameron asked. "I spent two days trying to figure out a way to tell you and not have you freak out."

"Have you any idea what's in my head, Cameron?" Harry asked. "I've only got five complete lives open in my head so far not including this one and I get killed twice by Vampires, once by a sword and once by a rock fall. You want me to freak out because I find out you're a Shapeshifter?"

Cameron laughed but covered it up hastily. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but I've never met an Old Soul before."

"Cameron, can you accept me?" Harry asked after a moment's pause.

"I want to Harry." Cameron nodded and surprised Harry by reaching out his hand. Harry swallowed and nodded before reaching out his hand and touching their hands together. A sharp tingle spread up their arms and flowed over them both. Harry could feel his wings trying to escape but kept them at bay. Cameron was leaning towards him and Harry couldn't stop himself from sinking forwards until their lips met.

Light exploded in Harry's mind and he could feel a connection between himself and Cameron, thrumming in happiness as it pulled their minds together. He wanted to slide across and find Cameron's mind but the silvery thread was pulling Cameron's mind into his own even as their kiss continued and their arms wrapped around each other.

_"Oh god, Harry."_ Cameron gasped and Harry felt the words in his mind.

_"You're in my mind."_ Harry knew his thoughts were being shared. He could sense Cameron within his mind, closer to him than any other person had ever been. But he could see the landscape of his mind too. They were surrounded by a complex system of sharp edges and smooth ones but around that was an ebbing fog of dark swirling shapes. People. _"I think they're the past lives I haven't remembered yet."_

_"What about the ones you have?"_ Cameron asked.

_"They're me."_ Harry said it and it made sense to him and he couldn't help feeling worried that Cameron would reject him because of it all.

_"There's nothing in here that could make me not want you, Harry." _Cameron soothed him. _"I love you."_

Harry couldn't even imagine accusing him of lying. He could feel all of that love coming across the silvery connection. _"I love you too. Even if they kill me for it."_

_"I won't let them. I don't have a form yet but I'll Choose one that can protect you."_ Cameron declared and Harry felt the emotions of protectiveness fill his mind from Cameron's. _"Circle Daybreak is running again, stronger than ever. They'll protect you. They won't care that we love each other."_

_"I don't want you to be hurt protecting me."_ Harry told him sharply and before he could stop it a memory was unfolding in front of them. Remus being poisoned in the battle with Voldemort. Harry watched himself lose it, blasting Voldemort with his spells.

_"What was that, Harry?"_ Cameron gasped. Harry could feel his shock.

_"This life."_ Harry's sorrow filled their minds and flashes of more images filled his mind, most of all was the face of Aileen as Nicolas was killed. _"I was a Wizard."_

_"I've never heard of them."_

_"They're Humans that can use magic with wands, but they are still just Humans."_ Harry told him. _"They wanted me for a weapon and I told them no."_

_"They tried to force you."_ Cameron stated and Harry knew he was seeing memories of his last hours in the Wizarding World. Absorbing it all. _"That's why you're here. You wanted a life without wars."_

_"And now I've got a mind full of them."_ Harry laughed derisively. _"I don't want to fight any more."_

_"I'll try to make sure you never do. You can help Circle Daybreak if you want or you can tell them to go to hell."_ Cameron assured him and Harry felt another wave of love.

_"Thank you, Cameron." _Harry thought.

_"You said you remembered five other lives but you only told me four deaths."_ Harry could feel Cameron's curiosity and knew he wanted to know what he needed to protect Harry from.

Before Harry could try to explain a whole section of his memories were surrounding them, uncurling to display for Cameron. Cameron watched A'Zia and his brilliant wingspan, he watched glimpses of a burning world and the greatest and last battle between Witches, Humans and the Amaru.

_"You were alive then?" _Harry could feel Cameron's deep shock and his overwhelming awe at A'Zia. _"You were there!"_

_"Yeah. I think something massive is coming, Cameron."_ Harry told him honestly and from another section of his mind came the image of Harry falling from the bridge and of his wings opening to send him into a rather uncontrolled glide.

_"You've got wings!"_ Cameron was getting far more shocked by the moment.

_"Please Cameron."_ Harry knew he both sounded and felt worried.

_"No, Harry."_ Cameron told him with resolve. _"Nothing can make me turn away from you. This is just cool."_

_"You're the strangest person."_ Harry told him and he was thinking privately how it seemed people were never really shocked by his wings. Even as he thought it though another more recent memory unfolded. It was of him and Jez talking about his wings.

_"You told him?"_ Cameron asked.

_"I had to."_ Harry sent another memory, feeling rather practiced at it now. It was of him curled up in the corner of the on-call room scraping at his neck in panic. _"I was going mad. He helped me. I trust him."_

_"Then so do I."_ Cameron declared. _"Which Vampires killed you Harry?"_

Harry was surprised but he couldn't help unfurling Nicolas' memory of Hunter bearing down on him. Harry shuddered and his mind filled with sharp spikes and horror even as Cameron countered the sensation with waves of love and over protectiveness. _"He was called..."_

_"Hunter Redfern."_ Cameron finished. _"I've met him a couple of time when he visited my family officially."_

_"He's still alive?"_ Harry panicked and his mind began closing up, protecting himself. Cameron tried to worm his way in but even as Harry was beginning to open up again he heard something on the outside. His radio.

"Harry!?" It was George's voice. "Are you there?"

Harry found himself opening his eyes. His head was lying on Cameron's shoulder and their sides were touching though they weren't kissing any longer. The field was still empty. He scrambled up as if they were on display and grabbed his radio. "I'm here George."

"I've been calling for two minutes, Harry." George told him. "There's a code eight at the Rhino pen. Get there now."

"I'm on my way but I'm a few minutes away at best." Harry told him. "I'm sorry, Cameron. I have to go."

"Harry." Cameron grabbed his hand. Warm tingles worked their way up his arm. "I'm here for you every step of the way."

"A code eight is a child in the pen." Harry told him. "I really have to go."

Cameron's eyes widened slightly and together they ran back into the park. Harry took shortcuts as they came up and arrived panting heavily at the rear of the pen. There was a group on his side of the pen and another group on the other and the crowds were gathering. Harry turned to Cameron. "You stay here and I mean it, Cameron."

"Okay, Harry." Cameron sighed. "Just be careful."

It took them a long time to discuss strategy but it was eventually decided to avoid tranquilising the bull since it took precious moments for it to fall into a sleep and they tended to go a bit wild in that time. The small boy, maybe seven years old, had realised his error but every time he tried to retrace his steps the bull turned at him and scared him back into the corner of the roughly square pen. The boy was very small and had clearly managed to squirm his way through the bars further around the pen and now couldn't get back to them.

Harry was the first to volunteer to get the boy but he'd need a distraction and the other group could provide that. Harry slipped in unnoticed by the bull and stayed low to the ground as a dozen keepers and George entered rather dramatically from the other side of the pen. They instantly had the bull's attention and even the two females who weren't likely to do more than slink away into another corner. As soon as the bull turned to look at the other group Harry slipped quickly along the inside edge of the pen heading for the small boy.

The boy made to run for him but Harry made hasty gestures for him to stay put. The boy complied though he was crying. Harry made it there without the bull noticing but as the boy grabbed a hold of him the bull snorted and realised somebody had snuck passed him. He pawed at the ground before charging with very little warning. The boy leapt to the right, trying to drag Harry with him but that would take them further into the corner.

Harry didn't have to put much thought behind it and the world shifted into that single moment of indecision. The boy stopped pulling, the bull froze mid leap and the horrified cries from the gathering crowds went silent. Harry studied everything. He could easily simply walk away from the scene but the boy couldn't be moved within the moment. He wasn't built to live in the moment like Harry. Harry could shift balances, make decision and move himself but he couldn't move other people or objects with previous momentum.

He knew Rhinos, they didn't have brilliant eyesight and their decisions while charging where rather slow. The fence behind him curved back to the right and Harry knew that if he dived to the left the Rhino would miss them and turn away. That would give them the vital few seconds to run to the gate before the Rhino could slow enough to turn around fully and find them.

But Harry would need all his balance and strength to pull the boy in the right direction, he needed to almost throw him within a couple of seconds. Even as he finished planning it he started pulling. His whole weight went against the boy's headway and as he slipped out of the moment everything went flying. The boy was yanked straight off his feet and Harry rolled to his left without any grace, throwing the boy clear of the Rhino's charge which crashed over where Harry and the boy had been standing moments before. Harry only just got clear and he rolled backwards to stand and grabbed the boy off of the ground. He turned and ran for it without checking the Rhino. He could feel the shaking of the ground slow as the Rhino turned and just as they reached the gate he could feel it picking up speed again.

In seconds they were through the gate which was protected by hefty metal bars and before Harry knew it a woman was sweeping the boy up from the ground and smothering him in a hug. Harry was surprised when newly familiar arms wrapped him up in a tight hug and Harry could feel Cameron's arms and chest. He could smell the slight scent on Cameron's neck from the day's sweat and he could feel Cameron's brown hair against his cheek.

_"You scared me, Harry."_ The words were in his head but they screamed Cameron at him. He hadn't even realised that Cameron was telepathic.

_"I was never in any danger."_ Harry told him and knew by Cameron's own emotions that he could hear him. _"I'll show you why later."_

Cameron backed away and they realised that their moment had been noticed by at least fifty people. Luckily the other keepers were prevented from answering when the woman who was presumably the boy's mother grabbed him in a tearful hug. "Thank you so much young man!" She almost shrieked.

"Harry?" It was Simon Carter. Harry hadn't even realised the Director had been at the edge of the pen. "Why don't you take Mrs. Samuels and her family up to the conference room? I think they may be in need of a hot drink. I'll have something sent up." Harry nodded and glanced at Cameron with a shrug. "Feel free to take your friend with you, Harry."

Harry nodded again gratefully and turned to Mrs. Samuels, her husband, two daughters and the boy who was being carried by his father. He was almost asleep. Harry got them to follow him and Cameron up to the Manor amidst a large crowd of spectators.

It was a long hour and a half for Harry as Mr. and Mrs. Samuels constantly thanked him and the other staff, through Simon Carter, for their aid in rescuing their son. Cameron sat at his side in silence the entire time and it was well passed the end of Harry's shift before he was set free. It wasn't that Harry was unmoved by saving the boy, only that he didn't like the attention it was getting him.

When he finally escaped with Cameron they walked into the public room of the Veterinary Surgery to find, amongst a few visitors, Jez sitting looking rather bored. He jumped to his feet as soon as he saw Harry. He was wearing a visitor's pass again so obviously Shay had let him in. "I heard what happened, Harry." Jez hugged him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Jez." Harry told him. "Come on." He tugged Jez through the locked door and Jez turned as they walked when he realised they were being followed.

"Who are you?" Jez asked rather protectively.

Harry grabbed his chin and dragged him into the lab. Cameron followed silently. "Jez, this is Cameron. Cameron this is Jeremy."

"Jez!" Jez yelled and then blinked and glared at Harry.

Harry smirked at him before turning to Cameron. "We still need to talk about stuff."

"I know." Cameron nodded. "Do you want me to come back tomorrow?"

"Could you come to my place tonight?" Harry asked. Cameron grinned.

"I don't know if I like that idea." Jez spoke up protectively. Cameron eyed him for a moment and shrugged.

"I couldn't hurt him if I wanted to." Cameron told him. "I'm hard wired to him."

"He's right, Jez." Harry told him. "I was right, we're Soulmates and we really can't hurt each other."

"But still..." Jez frowned.

"Jez." Harry touched him on the arm. "Cameron and I need to talk things through and it's risky to do it anywhere but at my place."

"Risky?"

"We love each other, Jez." Harry told him. "We can't escape it but the Night World would kill us both for it."

"So you're Night World?" Jez sized Cameron up.

"Jez." Harry slugged him gently on the arm. "Give it a rest. I'm the one that freaked Cameron out with it all."

"Yeah, I can imagine." Jez laughed. "Alright. But I'll kill him if he hurts you. I don't care what kind of Vampire he is."

"Shapeshifter." Cameron corrected automatically. "Well..."

"Not now, Cam." Harry laughed, shortening Cameron's name without even realising it. "We'll explain it later."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Later that night**

Harry lay out in his bed. Cameron was beside him and Jez was on the sofa in the other room. It seemed normal for him to be lying next to Cameron and apart from a smirk from Jez nobody mentioned it. Harry was well aware that Jez pulled Cameron to the side when Harry left the room to shower before bed.

"Cam?" Harry asked and rolled onto his side. They were both wearing just their boxers with the sheet up to their ribs and Harry had trouble pulling his eyes up to Cameron's face from his chest. Cameron turned to look at him. "What did Jez say to you just then?"

"He warned me that sometimes you refuse to wake up from your nightmares but just to make sure I'm here when you do." Cameron told him softly.

Harry smiled at him. And moved slightly closer. "Cam? You said that Hunter Redfern was still alive?"

"Yeah, he's one of the big wigs on the Night World Council with my father." Cameron told him. "I never really liked him and lately he's been getting a rather bad reputation but most of the Vampires still worship him."

"My name was Nicolas." Harry said quietly and Cameron turned to look at him and grabbed his hand tightly sending soothing tingles through his body. "I was a slave on an island off the coast of America though I was born on the island and I never left. That was where the other slaves said it was. I had a little sister a few years younger than me and there was this other slave, Jastor, that wanted her."

"Wanted her?" Cameron swallowed thickly.

"Yeah. She said no of course. He was a bad person to put it nicely. He knew I'd kill him without a second thought if he tried to force her." Harry paused. "I was in charge of Hunter's snakes and he got in during the night and let one out and got rid of it. Hunter was furious."

"They hunted you?" Cameron gasped and grabbed at him desperately.

"They wanted to." Harry managed a smirk though it didn't fool Cameron. "I knew I was dead, it's not like you can escape a band of Shapeshifters, Werewolves and Vampires while on an island."

"So they killed you?" Cameron asked trying to get the story over with as quickly as possible.

"I grabbed a sword from one of the guards and Hunter just laughed at me." Harry shrugged. "It never crossed my mind to try it on him but Aileen was being held by Jastor and he was smirking at me."

"You killed him." It wasn't a question.

"I had to protect my sister." Harry told him softly. "I killed Jastor and Hunter jumped at me and the last thing I remember was his teeth in my throat and the pain. I woke up tearing at my own throat trying to get rid of the sensation."

Cameron reached out and his fingers touched the side of his neck, right where the scratches were slowly fading. "This?" Harry nodded. Cameron leaned forwards, closing the gap. Harry could feel Cameron's warm skin against his own and it sent warm thrills through him. Cameron kissed the side of his neck. Harry rolled onto his back and Cameron lay at his side, still touching him to remind him he was there and simply because he never wanted to let Harry go.

"I dread asking if you know the other Vampire." Harry edged, staring up at the ceiling. "I know you'll know her name but I really hope she's dead by now."

"Who?" Cameron seemed to dread it too.

"My name was Ryn. I think it was the first time I'd awakened since the Dragons were put to sleep but maybe not my first time being reincarnated. My parents were killed by wolves and the leader of the tribe took me in and raised me. Among those my age were two girls, Witches." Harry paused. "I've heard the story of Hellewise and Maya before but I've never heard my name before."

"You mean...?" Cameron gulped.

"Hecate raised me." Harry told Cameron. "When Maya was banished I was sent out after one of the rest of the tribe who she'd turned but had rejected her and fled. I found him broken and alone and helped him home but he wanted to go to sleep so Hecate put him into an enchanted sleep and I was given the task of hiding him so that Maya, who still wanted him, could never find him."

"She tried to get it from you?" Cameron guessed.

"I took the location to my grave but having my throat ripped out wasn't pleasant either." Harry shivered slightly.

"Maya's dead." Cameron told him reassuringly. "The Vampire Lord Thierry, who I'm guessing is the one from your story, killed her. Nobody really knows the truth there but the Night World Council saw the body."

Harry breathed out in relief. "What about Thierry?"

"He's around." Cameron told him. "I don't think we should go find him though. He's part of the Night World Council."

"I don't think he'd kill me, Cam." Harry told him. "I grew up with him, hunting wild pig and deer."

"It's been a long time and he's a Night World Lord. One of the most powerful." Cameron looked dubious.

"We'll see." Harry sighed. "Thanks, Cam."

"For what?" Cameron frowned down at him.

"For accepting me so quickly." Harry told him.

"It's not even an effort." Cameron laughed and settled his head down on Harry's chest, knowing that Harry was exhausted. "I'll see you when you wake up."

_Liam crouched on the river bank in London. He was just off from one of the bridges and he could hear the army soldiers patrolling the bridge's ends. It was the sewer tunnel beneath the bridge that Liam was interested in though. He'd been tracking this particular bear for three days now and he'd barely slept or rested in that time. His target was too important, a rogue Shapeshifter that had made use of the chaos in London to prey on the humans.._

_Liam was a Vampire Hunter by trade but he knew better than to think that all Night People were inherently bad so he just targeted the murderers among them. Jacobson was a rather political figure in London but luckily nobody blamed locals for missing people when every other night the skies filled with the drone of aircraft and the screeching of falling bombs. World War Two London wasn't a pleasant place to live but even as it worked for Liam it aided rogue Night People in hunting and killing._

_He looked up at the sky and the crisscross of search lamps as they caught on the aircrafts. He could see tracer rounds flying up from the ground, reaching into the air like deadly fingers. It was a large raid today which was good since it would cover the sounds of any fight he got into. He slipped through the wire fence that stopped access under the bridge and drew his Katana as he moved through the shadows. That was an advantage to being an Old Soul, as soon as he'd awoken with his memories on the night his parents and older brother had been killed by a Vampire and two Shapeshifters he'd been able to fight like a professional Samurai. The twelve year old boy had killed the Vampire with a broken table leg before they could realise they were facing something more skilled than your average twelve year old._

_He'd killed the two Shapeshifters six months later and then the war had broken out and now it was 1943 and the seventeen year old had more kills of rogues then he could remember. It was a service that had to be done since the Night World Lords didn't care about a war-torn London enough to do it themselves. They should be thanking him._

_The sewer was bleak and dirty. It stunk but at least his target had already made his way through the netting that preventing just this thing from happening. He walked out into an interchange and stayed crouched low to the ground, taking in the scene with practiced ease. He hadn't been noticed yet in the darkness thanks to his black outfit. Imazato wouldn't be impressed but he hadn't lived in an age where stealth kept you alive. He wore a black Ninja's outfit which covered every inch of him but his eyes. His silver Katana was carefully painted black so the blade didn't reflect any light._

_His target was crouched over that evening prey. She was long since dead and had been since Liam had traced him to the place where he'd kidnapped her on her way to the shelter. He was half human and half bear and his face was almost inside her chest. Shapeshifters needed one thing to survive, flesh, and Jacobson didn't seem to care about subtlety in taking it._

_Liam moved forwards so silently he doubted even a Vampire could have heard him, especially over the noise Jacobson was making. His broader than human back was to Liam and his form was human except for his hands and face which were clearly that of a bear. A thick matt of brown hair covered his entire body without any sign of his original clothing. Liam readied his sword, shifting the point up and holding the hilt near to his chest with one hand around the handle and the other across the base. This was a move that Imazato definitely wouldn't have liked. He was a Samurai, a being of honour, but he'd known nothing of Shapeshifters and Vampires._

_Liam took the final two steps at a run and put his entire weight into his strike. His Katana became an extension of his body and the sharp silver point slid straight through Jacobson's back as if it was tissue paper, it cut straight through his heart and out between two of his ribs. There'd be no damage to the Katana but Jacobson's body collapsed to the floor. None of his Night World abilities could help him now._

_Liam retrieved his sword and was about to wipe it on Jacobson's fur when what he had taken as a group of rats made their move. He'd been foolish, he'd overlooked the important and even as he turned he knew it would be a fatal mistake. Mice hunted in groups and Liam was just one human against eight humanoid Shapeshifters who only saw him as dinner._

_The fight was quick yet bloody. Liam killed two with the arts learned as a Samurai but the others managed to swarm him. Imazato would have said that they fought without honour but that didn't help Liam out of his dilemma. He didn't even cry out as his own chest was pierced by his own Katana but he would die with honour. His hand withdrew from his jacket pocket and the grenade fell from his hand even as he went limp. He could hear the metal object roll across the brick floor and the desperate, and fruitless, scramble around him and then it was just a white burning._

Harry shot up with a startled cry, colliding his shoulder into Cameron's chest on his way. Cameron was sitting in the dark and had clearly been trying to wake him. "Cam." Harry sighed before focusing passed him and to the other side of the bed near his feet. "Jez."

"You sounded like you were fighting." Cameron frowned worriedly.

"Looks like Liam's a Vampire Hunter." Harry told him, he knew his hands were shaking but compared to the other deaths he'd witnessed that one had been easier to handle. "I think I'm getting used to it."

"Used to what?" Jez asked and put his hand on Harry's leg through the blanket.

"Getting killed." Harry shrugged before launching into the story and as he spoke, almost on autopilot, he realised that he knew all the old backstreets of London, he knew his way around the sewers, he knew how to best track and tail Vampires, Werewolves and Shapeshifters without being noticed and even the surest way of killing them before they could try to defend themselves.

"Why is that all your lives seem to involve fighting?" Cameron asked.

Harry chuckled nervously. "I hope they're not all like that. I don't want to fight another war in this lifetime."

Jez kissed Harry on the cheek before traipsing from the room and Harry pulled Cameron so he was sitting between his legs with his back to Harry's chest before Harry opened his wings and cocooned them both so he could try to get back to sleep, knowing only that every time he closed his eyes he'd relive something else. Part of him just wanted to get it all over and done with but another part of him was frightened of what horrors he'd discover.

_"It won't be so bad it breaks you, Harry."_ Cameron's voice echoed softly in his head and Harry flinched realising that his Soulmate must have heard his thinking. He knew that Cameron was telepathic as a member of the First House but he hadn't realised that his own thoughts were so open. _"I think we need to be physically close for me to hear you clearly."_ Again Cameron could hear him.

_"Why do you say it can't be bad enough to turn me mad?" _Harry decided to just keep the conversation like this. Every time he heard Cameron's voice in his head he felt like warmth was soothing all of the crevices of his mind, softening the nasty edges of his previous lives.

_"Liam was only just sixty years ago, he died in 1943 and you were born 1980, that's only thirty-seven years."_ Cameron told him. _"You probably don't have another life between him and you said he was an awakened Old Soul and he wasn't twisted and insane."_

_"Yeah, maybe you're right."_ Harry nodded.

_"And even if you think you're going insane I'll be here to help you through it." _Cameron told him. _"And Circle Daybreak have loads of Old Souls working with them. If you need to talk to somebody about it then I'm sure one of them would jump at the chance."_

_"Cam. You're connected to me."_ Harry pointed out. _"Nobody else can come close to understanding me like you can."_

Even as he said the words the silver connection they were using to talk thickened and Harry fell towards Cameron but instead of Cameron coming to him, their minds flowed together and melded around each other. Cameron's spread throughout Harry's foggy nexus, covering everything that was bad and helping Harry to accept it. They stayed like that for hours, drifting together in their combined minds watching memories of both of their lives. Harry learnt about Cameron's family. His mother was an Owl, and his father a Lion. He had his two little sisters that wanted to be birds and his older brother, the heir, didn't know what he wanted. Harry could feel all the feelings that Cameron had towards his brother, Galen. The adoration for his gentle nature but also the concern that when it came to be his time to rule he'd be overwhelmed in a word where the stronger survived.

Cameron wanted Galen to stay like that and he was willing to be strong to offset his brother's gentleness. He was willing to be a Tiger so he could sit at Galen's side and protect him while he ruled. Harry made sure he knew that Harry was willing to be there at Cameron's side to protect their family because as his Soulmate, Galen felt like his brother-in-law already. He also knew that Cameron was bursting at the seams to tell his brother all about Harry. He could feel the pride that Cameron held towards Harry and he knew that Cameron wanted to know that his older brother approved of Harry. He wanted Galen and Harry to love each other for him. Harry made sure he knew that Harry would love anybody for Cameron's sake. Even his father.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Harry had the Saturday off and he couldn't wait to spend it in freedom. So much had happened the last week that Harry could hardly imagine it all. First there was the tour on the Monday and then all of the nightmares. July was drawing to a close and soon Harry would be nineteen and Jez made sure he didn't forget the upcoming day for even a moment. Cameron got a call in the morning from a friend and left for his hotel just on the outskirts of the small town while Harry and Jez went into town. Cameron gave Harry a room key for the hotel and told him and Jez to meet him up there after lunch.

As it turned out Harry and Jez were done for lunch by one and arrived at the hotel earlier than expected. They took the elevator up to the top floor and along the hall until Cameron's door arrive. Harry unlocked it without knocking and pushed it open and walked inside. For a moment he didn't realise that the shadow at the window was two people. It wasn't until the woman looked up from Cameron's wrist that he realised that Cameron had company.

Harry never for even a moment thought that Cameron was cheating on him but he was moving on autopilot and picked a pencil up from the bedside cabinet and was halfway between Jez and the woman in a moment. She was unbelievably beautiful with shoulder length brown hair that almost glowed with life. Her eyes were a bright crystal blue and were sharpened into that or a pure predator. Her skin had a pale gleam to it that only enhanced her features but it was the teeth that really made her fiercely beautiful.

She was a Vampire and she'd been feeding from Cameron's veins. Her eyes met Harry's and flickered to the pencil in his hand. Harry saw no foolishness in her eyes, she could see that Harry's wasn't a push over even with such a small weapon. She was underestimating him like a Vampire normally would. A pencil could easily reach the heart and a pencil was made of wood and wood killed Vampires. Harry was more dangerous with a used pencil than with a gun.

"Stop!" It was Cameron but Harry didn't look the foot to the left to see him. Not with a Vampire in the room.

"Move away from him." Harry hissed but it wasn't just his voice that spoke. It was A'Zia, Ryn, Liam and Imazato speaking confidently and Nicolas speaking desperately. "Now."

She took a delicate step to the side but the way she moved held a perfected grace that meant she could defend herself or change direction in an instant. Harry crossed the room to stand next to Cameron. Cameron reached for his hand but Harry moved it away so Cameron couldn't take the pencil. He expected Cameron to tell him to stop again but instead Cameron turned to the Vampire.

"Tamarack, change back." Cameron told her sharply. "Please. He really isn't a threat."

'Tamarack' slowly turned to take in Cameron without putting herself at a disadvantage but nodded after a moment. The deadly sheen vanished back to a more normal beauty and her fangs shrunk to normal size and she closed her mouth.

"Harry, give that here." Harry let him take it this time. "Harry, this is my friend. She won't hurt you."

"I don't know about that." Tamarack teased effortlessly.

"Tammy, no." Cameron shook his head fiercely at her. "Don't even kid about it. Harry's an Old Soul, he's been killed twice by having his blood taken by Vampires. Don't joke about it."

Tamarack stared at Harry in wonder and not a little bit of pity. "I'm sorry, Harry." Her voice was soft and didn't have the joking edge. "And I'm sorry you saw us like that but I was hungry and Cameron offered so that I could stay here and meet you."

"I didn't expect you so soon." Cameron told him and turned Harry to look at him properly.

"It's okay." Harry assured him before turning to the Vampire. "I'm sorry, it just took me by surprise."

She nodded at him. "And who's this cutie?"

Harry and Cameron turned to look at Jez who was still standing in the half open door, staring at Tamarack as if she was an angel. They waited for Jez to introduce himself but he didn't seem able to speak. "This is Jez." Cameron told her. "Harry's best friend."

"Should I blank his memory?" Tamarack looked less sure of herself. In fact she looked rather flustered.

"He knows everything." Cameron told her.

"Cameron." She frowned at him. "That's two Humans in less than a week. If anybody finds out..."

"They won't find out." Cameron snapped.

"And I told Jez before Cameron and I realised we were Soulmates." Harry told her.

"So you're really an Old Soul?" She asked looked him over. "You don't look like much."

"Tamarack!" Cameron intervened desperately.

"What did you expect?" Harry asked.

"Well you've got the eyes, just like Hugh from Circle Daybreak." She bit her lip. "But you know, you look kind of delicate. Not at all what Cameron said you were when he called me all panicky about falling for a Human."

"And he said I was an Old Soul when he called you?" Harry asked dubiously.

"Well no." She shrugged. "But he told me this morning."

"So you were expecting somebody more?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "Like a Samurai warrior, or a Vampire Hunter or something like that?"

"Something like that, yeah." Tamarack laughed.

"Remind me to introduce you to Imazato and Liam at some point then." Harry muttered dryly.

"Who?" Tamarack frowned looking at Cameron for help. She'd clearly been teasing him before now but she was clearly confused now.

"Harry's names when he was a Samurai warrior in Japan in the thirteenth century and his name as a Vampire Hunter in London during the Second World War." Cameron rolled his eyes.

"Seriously?" There was a glint in her eyes. "That is _so_ cool."

"Was there something in your blood before she drank it?" Harry asked Cameron carefully earning a snort of amusement before Cameron took his hand and pulled him into his side. Tamarack was clearly watching how Harry melted into Cameron's side and the way that Cameron had taken the protective role in the relationship even though Harry was clearly more skilled and more experienced.

"She's always like that." Cameron shrugged. "Really irritates my father but she's sworn an oath to protect me so he can't really get rid of her."

"That's good." Harry, Cameron and Tamarack all turned to look at Jez as he spoke and he went bright red as he realised what he'd said. Harry laughed but Cameron nudged him in the side. Harry glanced at him before following his gaze to Tamarack. She was slightly red too and seemed to be honestly flustered under Jez's blatant admiration. Harry and Cameron couldn't hold it in and both burst out laughing. They ended up sitting amongst the pillows on the double bed, laughing at their friends. Jez tried to leave but Harry grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to him while Tamarack recovered and sat proudly on a chair next to the windows. Noticeably as far from Jez as she could get.

"You've got a good fighting stance, Harry." Tamarack spoke up after a few minutes for everyone to calm down, namely Harry and Cameron.

"I suppose it comes with practice." Harry became serious.

"Ever thought of joining Circle Daybreak. We could definitely use more fighters." She realised she'd said something wrong when Cameron tightened his arm around Harry who became more defensive.

"Harry doesn't want to fight." Cameron told her.

"Why not?" She asked.

"I've fought a war already in this lifetime." Harry told her, snuggling closer to his Soulmate.

"Already fought a war..." Tamarack muttered to herself. "Wait! How old are you?"

"Eighteen." Harry frowned. "Well, nineteen on Friday."

"No, I mean in all." Tamarack demanded. "Do you remember anything from when the Shapeshifters were in charge?"

"Tammy. Leave him alone." Cameron came to his rescue. "It's his private life."

"Harry?" Tamarack was standing now and looked as if she was trying to stop herself from pacing. "This is important. Are you old enough to remember when the Shapeshifters ruled."

"The Shapeshifters never really ruled." Harry told her in way of conceding. "It was those called the Amaru. The Dragons."

"So you remember that far back?" Tamarack asked. Harry nodded. "Oh god. There's been nobody that goes that far back. The furthest back we have is when the Vampires were created."

"So?" Cameron seemed to want to stand and confront his friend for her words but his desire to hold onto Harry seemed to win out since he didn't move. "Tamarack! What does it matter if Harry is the oldest?"

"Because the Night World Council is looking for him." Tamarack told them.

"The Council doesn't know about me." Harry told her. "They can't. I only awakened less than a week ago. I didn't even know what I was until a few days ago."

"There's a prophecy. A really old one that's come up. It's really hard to translate into English but it says that the oldest of beings would rise and they would either help the darkness rise at the millennium or help to save the world." Tamarack told him. "Everybody is looking for an Old Soul because of another phrase about the person being throughout the ages. Older than any other. Don't you see it has to be Harry?"

"Why?"

"Because he's a warrior who will not fight." Tamarack told him.

"Is that in the prophecy?" Jez asked, speaking up for the first time since he'd embarrassed himself.

"No.." Tamarack sighed. "The Maiden of all the Witches, Aradia, saw it in a vision. A boy fighting in a battle and then swearing never to fight again. She said that without his aid the darkness would win but if he fights a war again then darkness _will_ win."

"Well that makes no sense." Jez told her.

Harry was already in a world of his own. He'd heard of a prophecy like this before. "Harry?" It was Cameron with his hand on the back of Harry's neck. He'd shifted to sit facing Harry. "Is she right?"

"I...don't know." Harry frowned. "Their translation sounds too vague but the original is clearer."

"You know the original?" Tamarack asked. "But Hecate cast that premonition."

"She never wrote it down because she was frightened that it would lead to disaster. That much evidence would lead the darkness to find the person and gain his aid." Harry said. "Only eight people heard it and they passed it down and eventually it must have been put down in writing. That was twenty-thousand years ago."

"You heard it?" Cameron asked. Harry nodded. "Could it be you?"

"Hecate knew it was about me." Harry told him. "We knew that I was the first to be reincarnated. It has to be me but I won't fight."

"I know." Cameron told him. "I don't think you should. Nobody can make you."

"If you won't fight at least let Circle Daybreak protect you." Tamarack told him. "If the Council gets a hold of you they'll force you to fight."

"I can protect him." Cameron told her. "I'm staying here with him."

"Cameron, you're not a fighter until you Choose." She pointed out.

"Then I'll chose." Cameron snapped. Harry grabbed his hands and he instantly calmed down.

"Let them send somebody, Cam." Harry told him softly. "If this Aradia has already seen me they'll find me eventually whether you get Tamarack to stay silent or not and they'll be able to protect me better without sneaking around."

"Harry." Cameron shut his eyes for a moment. "I don't want the rest of the Night World anywhere near you. They kill humans who know about us."

"I know that, Cam." Harry nodded. "So if the Night World find out and send somebody to kill me, even if they don't know the prophecy is about me, it would be better to have more eyes to look out for them."

Cameron sighed out explosively before turning to Tamarack. "Fine, call them if you want to."

"Cameron, you're my best friend." Tamarack knelt at the side of the bed. "You know I'd never do anything to hurt you and I'd never do anything to hurt your Soulmate."

"This should be interesting." Jez muttered just loud enough for them all to hear. Harry snorted and leaned his shoulder into his friend's side. He found himself being hugged between both Cameron and Jez and he knew then that he wasn't in any danger.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	4. A Witch's Eyes

Temporal Illusion

Chapter 4; A Witch's Eyes

**Southampton Airport – Arrivals**

Harry leant against the wall that ran along next to the concourse cafe. Jez was at his side while Cameron and Tamarack seemed to have taken on a defensive position just in front of them. It had been only a day and a half since he and Jez had walked in on Tamarack while she was feeding from Harry's Soulmate but in that time Harry had gotten to know her better than he'd gotten to know any Vampire in a long time, which wasn't saying all that much really. He'd befriended Vampires on several occasion in past lives and even if he hadn't dreamt of those lives, their faces were familiar to him. But he'd always felt uncomfortable around Vampires and he still felt it around Tamarack. Harry's body refused to relax around her, his wings strained against his control to wrap around him and every time she made a sudden move Harry reacted and on a few occasions he'd slipped into the moment in surprise.

She'd noticed this and Cameron and Harry had talked it over for hours in his head but there was nothing Harry could do about it and Tamarack made sure to take care around him knowing that he didn't one hundred percent trust her even if Cameron had vouched for her many times. Harry had had another couple of flashbacks and he'd come to accept them. He'd found himself in a more pleasant memory of playing the violin in front of a huge audience of people and had the memories of a mute musician in the Napoleonic wars and even with the poverty stricken way he had grown up as John of no name he'd gotten a sense of peace from him that the other memories had yet to give him. John, and thus he, had strived for years to master the violin even with the few scraps of coin he could gather together until a member of the Royal Musical Society had heard him playing for money and taken him in for a hot meal and tutored him. John had died at fifty-eight as a musician in the Royal Household and hadn't known anything of his past lives.

That had been the second of two new memories he'd learnt of and the other hadn't been so pleasant. He'd woken up to the sight of Jez and Cameron restraining him and Cameron had had bloody claw marks down his chest that were clearly from Harry's struggles. Lucas Aralias hadn't died a pleasant death. Lucus had died a death that made even Ryn's death look peaceful. Lucus had been a Witch Hunter's son during the American Witch Trials. His parents had used him as bait to lure in a pair of Witches and then managed to kill one while the other escaped. The Witch had come back for him a few nights later and taken her revenge out on Lucus, skinning him alive before setting fire to his body with a spell designed to keep him alive.

Jez had had to call the Zoo to get Harry off sick for the day and it had taken most of the day to draw Harry out of his horror. Luke had been a mere twelve years old and it was hard for Harry to get his mind back to his normal level of an eighteen year old let along get over being skinned and burned alive which to him had only just happened. Cameron had been horrified as he witnessed all of it.

"Here they are." Tamarack spoke up drawing Harry out of his reverie.

"Isn't that Quinn?" Cameron asked.

"As in Hunter Redfern's brat?" Harry whispered touching the small of Cameron's back with the tips of his fingers.

"You've met him?" Cameron asked, though without much surprise. Harry shook his head and shrugged at the same time. He didn't really know, he just got the impression he had. Eventually he'd relive the lifetime that feeling came from but until then it was a fleeting bit of information on the edges of his mind. "What's he got to do with Daybreak?" Cameron asked as Harry moved to the side slightly to look over the crowd and the approaching two figures that were clearly odd even to him.

Quinn was a tall man with the odd pairing of a young face and old eyes. Not as old as Harry but still old enough to give him away as either an Old Soul like Harry or as a Vampire. Part of him, made up of mainly Liam and Nicolas, told him he was a turned Vampire. The woman at his side though moved with a certain grace but she seemed human to Harry. He wouldn't rule out the possibility that she was more than that but she seemed more like Liam or Imazato.

"He turned onto our side a few months ago." Tamarack grinned at Cameron cheekily. "Got onto the same thing as you have. Found his Soulmate. That's her. Rashel the Cat. An Ex-Vampire Hunter. They torched Redfern pretty badly and broke out a ton of slave girls from a rebel group of turned Vampires."

"And how many slaves weren't so lucky?" Jez spoke up quietly.

"People change, Jez." Cameron told him simply. "Daybreak wouldn't have sent him out here unless they trusted him."

"And she's human and his Soulmate." Harry spoke up. "He can't hide anything from her." Even though he said it he still moved up closer to Cameron's back to reassure himself. Jez moved up on his right hand side, effectively the three shielded Harry.

"Tamarack." Rashel nodded as she and Quinn stopped opposite the four. "And you must be Cameron Drache."

"They're humans." Quinn spoke up and Harry frowned as he saw Jez twitch ever so slightly and look down at the ground on his right. Harry pulled him back knowing the symptoms so well and in a fluid move he moved in front of him. He felt a mind touch his own but instead of fighting the mind, so much more powerful than Dumbledore or Voldemort as it was, he let it enter. Let it feel lifetimes that he could only guess at the age of, at least fifteen thousand combined years stretching back thirty thousand years. Pain and horror filling hundreds if not a thousand or more deaths. Quinn recoiled and staggered backwards before his Vampire reflexes caught him. He looked sick to the stomach.

"Don't pry into our minds just because we're humans." Harry whispered quietly but he had everyone's attention, including Quinn who was pressing his hands into his knees trying to control himself. "You'll only find things you can't comprehend." Harry calmed down somewhat when Cameron looped an arm around his waist.

"Vampires do it all the time, Harry."

"I know..." Harry trailed off. "But next time he wants to know about us he should just ask."

"I am sorry." Rashel spoke up and offered her hand to Harry who after a moment took it. Harry could tell in the movements of her muscles that she was an extremely good fighter. "It is a habit he's never really gotten out of."

"Once a Vampire always a Vampire." Jez grimaced.

"This is Harry and Jeremy." Cameron spoke up continuing regardless of Jez's correction to the use of his full name. "They know about the Night World."

"How did you find out?" Rashel asked in a conversational tone.

"I told Jez after I began recounting past lives." Harry said rather bluntly.

"He's the Old Soul." Quinn spoke up as he straightened and rubbed at his head.

"You only got a glimpse." Harry snorted. "Imagine having it all in your head."

"No thanks." Quinn grunted. "Five hundred years is more than enough."

"Tamarack tried something similar yesterday and is still recovering from the headache." Cameron laughed. "It seems only I can freely move around in his head."

"And why is that?" Rashel asked.

"Because I let him." Harry said bluntly and touched Cameron on the arm, a gesture that he knew the two Daybreakers noticed. "Could we take this somewhere else? It is you guys that seem to think everybody is hunting me."

"A good idea." Rashel nodded. "Do you have room for us in your car or should we get a hire car?"

"I brought my car." Jez told them.

"We're here to protect you." Rashel looked from Cameron to Harry. "We'd rather go with you."

'_Are you okay with that, love?'_ Cameron asked him silently and Harry turned to look at him.

'_I...'_ Harry couldn't even think the words clearly and just let Cameron feel his emotions on the subject of letting Redfern's heir guard him.

"Quinn can ride with Jez." Cameron turned back to Rashel and Quinn.

"We're supposed to protect you, we can't do that from another car." Rashel pointed out.

"I have nothing against you, Rashel. I was once like you, a Hunter, but the only common denominator I have with Quinn is that his father drained all of the blood from my body as painfully as he could." Harry said it almost too quietly to hear. "Until I can trust him you might as well call somebody else."

"Listen kid..." Quinn started.

"Don't call me a kid." Harry whispered even as he turned around to head for the multi-story car park. Cameron quickly reached his side. '_I just don't like being treated as a child.'_

'_And you're older than he is.'_ Cameron's happy laughter in his mind soothed out the jagged edges of his mind a little more every time Harry heard it and this was no exception. Harry shared a small smile with him and took his hand in his own and squeezed it tightly.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"_Alexis!" Tacara screamed as she tripped._

"_Tacara!" He span around and skidded to a halt and dropped to her side, hoisting her to her feet. "We have to run or he'll catch us!"_

"_It's too late. He's too fast."_

"_I won't leave you, Tacara. I never have and I never will. From cradle to grave!" Alexis told her. "Now run!"_

_It was too late though and Alexis turned to see a tall figure emerge from the mist of Boston Harbour. "It's too late." She shivered violently as he held her up. "I'll hold him off, you run."_

"_I'm not leaving your side, Tacara." He told her simply._

"_How... sickening." The Vampire leered at them._

"_Quinn." Tacara sneered hatefully. "You dirty dog."_

_Quinn laughed and Alexis seethed. A flash burst behind his eyes and all he saw was hate as he drew his knife and leapt at the Vampire only to get caught by the throat effortlessly. He was tossed to the side like a limp puppy and just managed to right himself as his sister from birth raised her hands and called forth her powers. A flash of orange struck at Quinn but he dodged with inhuman speed and in a second the only family he had crumpled to the ground as the Vampire snapped her neck._

_Alexis howled as pain gripped his very being but a voice told him that dying wasn't so bad. That he'd get another chance._

Harry heaved in a lungful of air as he leapt up from the bed. He glanced around, finding himself alone so struggled to pull himself together without Cameron to help him and with a Vampire in the house, especially Quinn he found that difficult. Part of him, the Alexis part of him, wanted him to find a way out of the building and never return but the rest of him was torn between a mix of other emotions.

He shuddered a last time and pulled on his jeans and a loose shirt before grabbing a blanket and putting it around his shoulders revelling in the feeling that mimicked wrapping his wings around himself. He was shivering as he walked quietly out of the room and into his flat, letting his eyes adjust to the early morning light that told him it was barely four in the morning. He walked into his own living room and took it all in with a glance.

He saw Rashel standing with her back to him looking out of his window at the street beyond but the sofa was empty, as was the rest of the room. "Where are Cameron and...?" He couldn't bring himself to say his name right now.

Rashel twisted around and her hand went to her waist and half pulled out her specialist sword. It took a moment for Harry to realise that she had only stopped the movement because he had slipped into the moment. He took a moment to study the way she had twisted, it was beyond the skill of many that he had seen before and in complete contrast to Imazato's grace. She was clearly used to striking without warning.

He pulled them out of the moment and pulled the blanket around himself tighter as she halted her reaction and slid the sword away again. "You took me by surprise."

"I didn't mean to." Harry told her simply and walked further into the room. "You didn't answer my question."

"They're up on the roof. Quinn wanted to check it out before daylight and Cameron..." She trailed off at Harry's wince at Quinn's name. "What?"

"Nothing." He looked past her and out of the window wishing that he could connect to his Soulmate's mind like Cameron could do so easily. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"You were making too much noise." She told him honestly. "I didn't want to wake you and I don't sleep much anyway."

"I wish I didn't." Harry told her.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Harry turned towards his kitchenette and put the blanket on the arm of the chair so he could make a hot drink to still his shaking limbs. "I wasn't having a nightmare. My past lives are unravelling in my mind one after another."

"All of the deaths?" She frowned.

"You're faster than Cameron at working that out." Harry said without humour. "Normally I just get glimpses of the lives, major moments and that sort of thing, until I dream about the death and then I remember everything."

"That can't be pleasant." She agreed and accepted the tea from him and sat opposite him.

"No." Harry said simply. "The major problem is that even though my old lives were over years or centuries ago I remember the deaths as if it just happened."

"Do you feel them?" She asked.

"I think I remember somebody telling me that death is painless." Harry mused. "I'd like to see if he's ever tried it himself."

"Have you ever been murdered?" She asked.

He nodded and she seemed to be smart enough not to bring it up again. "Have you ever been to Boston before?" Harry asked to make conversation.

"I've spent some time there. It's where I met Quinn. He used to live there and he's spent much of his life there." She told him with a small smile when talking about him.

"How much do you know about Quinn?" Harry asked her. "Is he open to you about everything in the past?"

"He is." She nodded. "He's a good guy."

"What about all the people he's killed?" Harry asked clenching his mug in his hands. "Has he told you all about those?"

"Yes." She told him. "And I know he regrets all of them."

The mug shattered in his hand and he knew his wandless magic had done it more than his actual strength. Rashel flinched as tea sprayed across the table and Harry jumped back. "Regrets them!" He scoffed but was saved from saying more when the door opened and Cameron burst in and quickly found Harry.

"What's wrong?" Cameron had his arms around him in an instant and Harry felt the energy drain from him as he fell shuddering against him. "A new one or more of one?"

Harry smiled and pulled away from him but stayed close to his side as he saw Quinn silently slip into the room and firmly shut the door. "New." Harry told him quietly.

"Awakened?" Cameron asked pressing a kiss to his hair as the two others watched on in silence. Harry looked at his Soulmate and smiled, this was becoming almost a routine and Cameron knew all the most important things that Harry took in though he rarely asked about the last one, the death. Normally he could work that out himself from what Harry did when he awoke or even within the sleep.

"Not until the last moment." Harry told him quietly.

"What do you mean by that?" Rashel asked.

"Old Souls don't always Awaken in every life." Quinn told him. "Some always Awaken at a certain ages and others Awaken because of something."

"And other times not at all." Harry said, wanting to silence the Vampire. He couldn't listen to his voice right now.

"So this last one?"

"He Awakened a few moments before he was killed." Harry said simply.

"That's a little..." Rashel trailed off, not being able to find the word for how horrible that was.

"It's my denominating factor it seems." Harry shrugged and pressed closer into Cameron's side. "When my life is in danger I Awaken. Sometimes that's allowed me to protect myself and other times not. When I was Liam in the Second World War my family was killed by a Shapeshifter and I Awoke and was able to fight them off."

"And this one?" Rashel asked.

"Alexis." Harry said simply though right now he felt more like Alexis than anything else. The Alexis that had just watched his surrogate sister murdered for befriending a mere human. Him.

"And Alexis?" Rashel corrected herself.

"He Awoke but it didn't do him much good against this monster." Harry told her. "He hunted us down and he killed us like we were toys, two fourteen year old children. One a Witch and one a human. Just because they'd relied on each other to survive."

"What happened, Harry?" Cameron asked him.

"She tried to make me run but I didn't want to leave her." Harry told him but at that moment his eyes found and locked onto Quinn's and the Vampire flinched at all the pain hidden behind the cold emerald irises. "I Awoke and something in me made me attack him but he was too fast and just threw me to the side. Her magic did nothing and he just snapped her neck."

"And you?" Quinn asked quietly.

"You know." Harry whispered and Cameron tensed up. "I knew yesterday at the airport that I'd met you before. You hunted Tacara and me down through Boston Harbour because you were ordered to."

Rashel drew in a sharp breath and made to speak in Quinn's defence but to Harry's surprise Quinn touched her on the arm. "No, Rashel." Quinn shook his head. "I don't remember yet but I will do and he's probably right. It probably was me. I was working in Boston Harbour most of the time."

"It was 1872." Harry told the room. "It's one of my more recent memories. But as deaths go it wasn't so bad compared to the others."

"Harry!" Cameron gasped and turned to face him properly. "Don't ever say that!"

Harry just shrugged before turning to look at Quinn. "You'll understand if I don't want you around today at work."

"Harry..." Rashel tried to speak up.

"I trust Cameron and he trusts Tamarack who vouches for the two of you." Harry said simply. "But whether _I,_ Harry, trusts Quinn isn't in this. It's whether _Alexis_ trusts him and right now he doesn't which means every one of the people I have been are telling me to stay away from him. I can't have him protecting me when I can't trust him not to snap my neck."

"He wouldn't..." Rashel started to argue.

"He already did." Harry told her simply before turning for the bathroom to wash and shower. Cameron followed him as far as the bedroom but they'd never even seen each other that exposed yet so he went off to change while Harry went into the bathroom. He stripped down and walked into the shower and as the hot water soothed his muscles he let himself cry. For Tacara and through her for all the friends he'd had over the span of thirty thousand years.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That afternoon – Marwell**

To avoid attracting attention to them Harry arrived at work on his own and knew that Tamarack had snuck into the place ahead of him, leaving Cameron, Rashel and Jez to follow under Cameron's leverage once the park opened. It wasn't all that necessary for Jez to come to work with him for the day and Rashel had pointed that out and the others had agreed when they all met at the hotel but Harry had just shook his head and they'd dropped it. In truth he just didn't want Quinn and Jez to be alone together and Cameron had realised this.

Throughout the day he'd seen Cameron and the others but he was hyper aware of Tamarack's eyes on him whenever he wasn't in the manor. Perhaps it was just because he knew she'd be watching his every move. Rashel was just as bad in that it didn't matter to her how strange it looked for her to ignore the animals and just watch the people.

He was sitting inside the spare cage inside the medium cat exhibit feeding small bites of meat with vitamin supplements to Jeka through the wire mesh when the group approached just after lunch and Jeka noticed them first and started to raise herself from the ground. She lifted her hackles and snarled and Harry knew it was at Cameron. At the Dragon.

"Easy girl." Harry told her and without thinking about it he reached three fingers through the fence and touched the side of her neck. Her head spun back to face him and his fingers moved away from her pelt at the movement before Jeka surprised him by moving her neck back to make contact with his fingertips, clearly asking for more. Harry smiled and stroked her pelt.

"_Harry!"_ He heard at the same time he felt Cameron's mind touch his own and he let the two merge together and his eyesight unfocused though it didn't completely disappear. Cameron got a few flashes of the things he had been thinking about while sitting down. A quick image of Alexis and Tacara playing with a small leather ball in Alexis' family's garden and another image of Tacara playing with her magic as the two children sat cross-legged facing one another. Harry felt Cameron letting them wash into him before speaking again. "_Are you stroking Jeka?"_

"_It was accidental." _Harry excused himself letting the memory of his instinctual reaction float over to his Soulmate. "_She doesn't like the Dragon. None of the cats do which is ironic since most of the Amaru seemed to like having cat Shapeshifters to guard them."_

Harry let go of Jeka but didn't pull his hand back yet and laughed when she turned and licked the salt from his fingers and hand. He gave her the last of the meat bites and stood up and worked his way through the pens and out onto the road and into the crowd of onlookers that had been watching him feed Jeka.

"Anything different today?" Rashel asked him analytically just as Tamarack appeared seamlessly out of a crowd of people making Cameron and Jez jump rather amusingly. Harry looked at the old Vampire Hunter.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you." Harry told her in way of answering her. "I have to go see what David has in store for me."

Rashel nodded and the group began to walk down through the park at a leisurely stroll. "_She's wondering why Circle Daybreak sent her and Quinn out to protect you."_

"_What did you tell her?"_ Harry replied letting his Soulmate feel his anxiety along with flashes of battlefields throughout time. Some that Harry didn't even recognise. Yet.

"_Nothing more than what Tamarack told them. That you need protection until you fully Awaken or get to Circle Daybreak and that you might know something important that's worth protecting."_ Cameron assured him. "_I know you want to keep who you are or were a secret. Tamarack knows you're older than anyone else and are in that prophecy but only Jez and I know about your wings and it'll stay that way."_

"_Thanks." _Harry said it even though he knew he didn't need to.

Harry stopped at the door that led into the Manor and the vets' labs and smiled at the group. "You'll just draw attention in here. Linger in the outer room if you want." Harry told Rashel before slipping inside. He kissed Cameron briefly before unlocking the private door a disappearing inside. Right now he didn't really want to be surrounded by so many people even if it was just Tamarack and Rashel that were additional. He put up with it purely because he knew that Cameron was relieved to have the two excellent fighters nearby if something happened.

"Harry!" He heard David yell from one of the labs as he walked past the door, heading for the staffroom to grab a drink of water. He sidetracked inside and smiled at his boss but then lost the smile and politely greeted the other man in the room. "You remember Doctor Ammen from a few weeks ago?"

"Of course." Harry nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you again."

He saw David's eyes widen in surprise before the other Doctor smiled and returned his greeting in French. Harry found himself surprised that he could even speak the language but then again it wasn't too much of a surprise, as it was he could speak Japanese, North African and who knew what else, including a variation of the ancient Incan language. Clearly he had some French in there too.

"I didn't know you spoke French, Harry." David laughed. "That's a pleasant addition."

"Addition?" Harry asked with a frown. "Addition to what?"

"Perhaps I should explain?" Doctor Ammen smiled. "My consortium is arranging an extended trip this year beginning in October. We will start with some time at the Pima Medical Institute in Las Vegas and after Easter will journey to the African Tundras for the study."

"Why the long stay in Las Vegas?" Harry asked. "And why tell me this?"

"The stay in Vegas is because it is Pima who are funding the expedition and we need a chance for the entire team to get to know each other and get everything ready for the study." David explained. "The reason we're telling you this is because between Marwell and Doctor Ammen's consortium we are bringing four students with us. We would like you to come along and we have our eye on your two friends. Your professor has already forwarded your references to us and if you agree to come he has agreed to give you the year for study with us. Pima Institute is quite capable of seeing to your education and the shortened time should not be a problem for any one of the three of you."

Harry stared at him in shock. "You want to take me to Las Vegas and then the Andean mountains?"

"You seem surprised." Doctor Ammen observed.

Harry looked at David who nodded to him. "Marwell is putting in quite a bit of money into this program so I get a lot of say in who the students are that will go but that doesn't mean I chose you out of hand." He told him. "We wouldn't offer if we didn't want you or your friends there. We've sent letters to your friends so you may talk to them about it and get back to us but we do need an answer as soon as possible."

Doctor Ammen pulled an A4 envelope out of his bag and handed it to Harry who smiled and took it. "I'll take a look tonight and talk to my friends about it." Harry promised. "It's a great opportunity." Regardless of everything else happening in his life right now.

"Alright then, Harry." David smiled. "Zachery wanted your help over in the snake pit this afternoon and even though you know a lot about them for a student you could always make more time for them."

Harry nodded and quickly made his way out of the building, finding Jez and Tamarack sitting together in the visitors' room. They were leaning together and Tamarack actually had her eyes closed while Jez was just looking rather unfocused. It took Harry a moment to realise what they were doing and suddenly wondered if he and Cameron did that. A grin spread across his face, a true smile of happiness for his friend. He and Cameron had known that Tamarack and Jez were hitting it off but they'd been rather tight lipped about it and Harry hadn't even realised they were Soulmates.

Not really wanting to force the two out of it but knowing that Cameron would be horrified to know he'd ditched them he prodded Jez in the side and a moment later Jez was looking at him in surprise. Tamarack's eyes snapped open and she was standing before she realised it was Harry. "Having fun in there?" Harry asked with a smirk on his face.

"Harry." Jez stood up and touched his arm.

"I know, Jez." Harry smiled at his best friend and leaned over and kissed him on the forehead whispering to him as he pulled away again even though he knew that Tamarack's hearing would pick it up even from a hundred metres away. "I'm happy for you."

"Quinn called." Tamarack told him after a moment. "Cameron and Rashel went to the hotel to talk to him."

Harry paused with a frown but even if Alexis had his way and Quinn was still bad Rashel wouldn't let anything happen to Cameron. He handed the envelope to Jez. "You might want to have a look at that. It's an offer for me, you and Nicky. You don't fancy coming with me to play with snakes I suppose?"

Harry saw the instant Jez took that in and laughed. "Don't joke, Harry." Jez was scared of snakes.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That night - Marwell**

It was late that night when things started taking a strange turn for Harry. He was dreaming normally for a change even though it was a nightmare replay of the last night's memory of Alexis but he was woken by a flash of light through his window and the clamouring of animals that didn't like to be woken. To start with he thought it was merely lightning but he didn't hear any thunder to accompany it and when he reached the window he could easily make out a sky full of stars.

He pulled on his shirt, jeans and jacket before pulling on his trainers and made his way out of the on call room, grabbing his radio on the way and turning it off the alarm only mode. He was outside of the building and heading through the aviary cages when he saw a second flash just to his right and ahead of him, near the large cats.

"Security?" Harry spoke as he brought the radio up to his mouth. "I've seen a couple of bright white flashes, the second near to the big cats. I'm going to have a look but can you send someone."

"_Sure thing, Harry."_ One of the three night guards told him. "_We'll swing around with the car. It's probably just some kids with a torch but be careful."_

Harry wasn't too worried but he still approached the area with care and as he walked up through the path between the tiger enclosures and the lion one he couldn't hear anything like kids making trouble and slowly the part of him that was more Imazato, Liam and their kind took over his movements and he became that much stealthier as he moved and the part of him that was Alexis and John sighed and moved to the side since they couldn't help now.

As he reached the central area of the enclosures for the lions he frowned at the empty space. This was where the light had come from but he couldn't see anything out of place at all. He lifted the radio to his lips. "I'm in the lion viewport but I don't see anything out of place."

"_We'll swing around the enclosures."_ The security told him and Harry knew they were close by. He put his hand in his pocket to get his keys to open the door into the pens and was just about to unlock them when a massive weight struck him square in the back and threw him forwards into the Perspex shield that separated the younger male lion's, Mika's, enclosure from the public and the radio slipped from his fingers and cracked as it hit the ground. Harry pulled himself to his feet but felt some force holding him against the Perspex.

"Where are you?" Harry demanded as he realised he was being held by magic, probably by someone under a disillusionment.

A figure appeared from under a spell and Harry narrowed his eyes at him knowing it was pointless moving into the moment right now while he was being held by magic, it wouldn't fade and he'd still be stuck in place. "The Minister would like a word, Mr. Potter."

"Then the Minister can call and make an appointment." Harry glared at him. "Let me down."

"I have my orders." The man laughed and flicked his wand. Harry couldn't avoid the lance of red light that hit him nor could he hold in the surprised cry as the mild pain curse struck him. "But it didn't say when to bring you in. Might as well have a little fun. You did abandon us to fight the war after all."

"The war ended you freak!" Harry snarled.

"There's a new war, Mr. Potter." The Wizard sneered. "And you're needed to fight this one."

"I won't fight another war for you!" Harry told him.

"You will." The Wizard laughed and spat out his next spell. "Crucio!"

Harry managed not to scream for all of a few seconds but as soon as he did the spell ended and Harry coughed out blood and tried to ignore the pain in his back as his wings tried to push through the magic holding him up against the Perspex. He could hear the sound of claws on the sheet and realised that Mika was right behind him and beyond the Wizard, through the other window was Ketian, prowling his own boundary.

Harry felt the magic fail around him and slumped to the ground but before he could rid himself of the pain so he could properly slip into the moment the Wizard grabbed his arm and tried to apparate except that Harry lashed out with his wings at the very instant the Wizard tried to take them both away and his apparition failed and simply lurched them a few metres in the direction he wanted to go.

The fell apart as they landed and Harry's winged arched up into the air in a cone, protecting himself from all sides even as he firmly felt the part of him that was A'Zia burst into being. A'Zia was the one that could fight with his wings and Harry felt confidence flooding his body until he realised where they were. The small jump had taken the two of them about ten metres into the East and straight into the middle of Mika's enclosure and the four year old male wasn't happy with the visitors and his roar shook the air. The Wizard stumbled to his feet and turned to Harry with shock on his face as he saw his wings but the move made him turn his back on Mika who leapt across the gap between the Perspex window and the two of them and slammed into the Wizard's back. Harry winced and dove out of the way as the lion and his, soon to be dead, prey tumbled passed him and his wings beat down, lifting his feet several inches off the ground before he tucked them behind his back.

Harry winced as the lion closed his jaws over the Wizard's skull and crushed it. Happy that the Wizard was now dead the lion stepped off of the body ignoring the blood on its front claws and teeth. Mika might have been born in this very zoo but his instincts hadn't suffered and they fed them in ways that didn't let them get complacent. Harry wanted to open his wings but he knew he couldn't get off the ground if he slipped into the moment long enough to dodge the lion's pounce. Before he could slip into the moment and run on foot the lion lowered his head and slowly walked towards him, seemingly happy with Harry's presence.

Harry sighed in relief and his wings disappeared into his back. Mika growled slightly but didn't seem angry at Harry for invading his space and merely closed the space between them until his head was right in front of Harry's lower ribs. Harry slowly reached out with his hand and touched the lion's head and stroked him gently, getting a purr from the predator. All of a sudden though Mika snaked his head around and crouched down to the ground, clearly sensing a threat but before Harry could react a hand grabbed him on the back and his world went black.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Ultan let the shaft of his spear lean against his shoulder as he crouched down to the ground his warriors spread out around him to protect him while he studied a track left in the mud. The rain came down over them just as it had all day but they were battle-scarred warriors and it didn't really slow them down even though they wore little more than loincloths and leather bracers around their forearms, chests and legs._

_Ultan gave his second in command a small affirmative gesture and without words the group burst back into motion, tracking the group of Vampires through the forest around their city. They'd been hit two nights ago and four children had been killed as well as two dozen of their soldiers so Ultan and his men had been sent out by the King to track them down and kill them or die trying._

_When, ten hours later they finally caught up to the group it was child's play for the fifty warriors to encircle their came. They were making so much noise that Ultan thought they might have been able to run through the camp without being noticed. No sooner had they settled into ambush positions, Ultan and those around him signalled the attack by bursting out of the trees and bushes. Ultan killed three with deathly swings of his sharpened wooden spear, a slightly crude weapon but with enough force it cut through Vampire skin just like a stone tipped spear and they only fell to wood._

_The battle was bloody for both sides. The dozen warriors were a match for Ultan's fifty men but they'd surprised them and that gave them a slight edge but even so the battlefield was still strewn with dead and as Ultan squared off against the female leader of the Vampires it was clear that the victors would still go back home defeated. Ultan met her dark eyes with calmly assessing ones and something came over him, he'd been calm and collected throughout the entire battle, even as his warriors fell and he'd been emotionless but now an emotion rose through him but something else was there, guiding that emotion into a practical thing, fuelling his tired limbs. His grip on the spear shifted and that surprised him, he'd always fought the exact same way but now everything about his stance was changing. He was moving into a fighting stance he didn't even recognise._

_It was almost as if something was taking over his body and then he knew that he'd thought these Vampire's before, a long time ago. This one in particular. She was familiar to him and at that epiphany he realised he was about to be killed. And he accepted that just as easily as a calm and saddened voice spoke in his mind. They'll always be the next time._

"_Maya." His voice was soft but the words seemed to slam into her. "Found him yet?"_

_He surprised himself by laughing and her expression went from surprised, to realisation and finally onto anger. They both lunged at each other and Ultan drove the spear through her side, puncturing the flesh and muscles of her left abdomen. The strike wouldn't kill her though and before he could pull back she'd grabbed him by the shoulders and he felt her teeth ripping at his throat._

Harry gasped in a breath as he woke up in a dark room. He was covered in sweat and as he got over the panic induced by being murdered, once again, by Maya he took in the room. It was dark enough that it took a moment for his eyes to focus on the walls and the door and finally onto the man standing next to the door.

"Shacklebolt." Harry frowned up at the Auror and was a little surprised that he had trouble associating the man with his current life. He'd literally lived several dozen others since he'd been involved with the Wizarding World. "What do you want?"

"My orders are to watch you until the Minister comes to talk to you." Shacklebolt told him.

"So you're not going to help me?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore's left you alone since you ran, Harry, but he gave me orders not to lose my anonymity." Shacklebolt told him simply.

"So the Order of the Phoenix are just cowards after all." Harry spat as he straightened in his chair. "You let me fight Voldemort for you and then tried to force me to be a permanent weapon and when I try to make myself a life you come and kidnap me. Torture me."

"They didn't torture you, Harry." Shacklebolt pointed out.

"So 'Crucio' isn't torture anymore?" Harry sneered and Shacklebolt tensed. "Jameson didn't mention anything about that."

"So automatically an Auror is telling the truth?" Harry shook his head. "This place will never change."

Shacklebolt took a step forwards towards Harry but then froze mid step. Harry sighed and relaxed in the comfort of his moment before starting to study his confinement without watchful eyes on him. He was in a hard stone chair with magically strengthened manacles attaching him by the ankles and wrists and putting him against the backrest in such a way that he couldn't release his wings so using them to shield himself from magic was out of the question and so was any escape right now. He'd have to wait for them to move him somewhere else and then he could simply slip into the moment and walk away.

Harry let time continue and Shacklebolt continued towards him but Harry spoke before he could. "If you're not going to help me Shacklebolt then I don't want anything to do with you, or the Order, or anything else to do with the Wizarding World. Just stand in the corner and shut up."

Finished with his rather Liam-like comment he turned his head to the side and ignored the Auror who facing somebody he clearly didn't know anymore backed away into the corner.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Four hours later**

Harry turned to look at the group entering and had to stop the part of him that wanted to sneer at the Wizards although he wasn't sure which part of him that was. Perhaps it was Harry Potter given some backbone by his past lives.

"Begin session one." The Wizard leading the group spoke as he waved his wand towards the ceiling. Harry glanced up and saw a newly shinning blue crystal set into the ceiling. Looking back at the man Harry decided that he wasn't an Auror and by the cut of his clothing he wasn't just a Ministry lackey either. "Do you know who I am?"

Harry snorted in amusement. "Should I?" He answered with a raised eyebrow.

"I am the Minister for Magic, Augustus Lemming." Harry choked on his laughter at the name. "What is so funny?"

"Nothing." Harry bit his lip. "Just a Muggle thing but it does seem to fit with the Ministry."

"I am here to question you." Lemming told him as he pulled himself up to his full height which was probably a good half a foot taller than Harry when he was standing. "The device in the ceiling is magically enchanted to detect lies and to also record this session. A recent invention by a bright young witch, I believe you know Miss. Granger."

"I'd prefer not to." Harry said simply and glanced up. "What do you know? I told the truth."

"State for the record your name." Lemming asked in a less than amused tone.

"Liam Goldrick." Harry said easily and saw the frowns at his supposed lie. The four Wizards in the room, including Shacklebolt, looked up at the crystal but it was still blue. "What do you know? I'm still not lying."

"Minister?" An Auror Harry didn't know leaned over to the Minister's ear but didn't bother to lower his voice. "How can we be sure this is Harry Potter?"

"Look at him." The Minister waved a hand. "Everybody knows what he looks like."

"Are you Harry Potter?" The last man asked him with a look in his eye like he'd just worked out the perfect plan.

Harry shrugged. "I can't really deny that. Yes." He said honestly. He'd already proven to Shacklebolt that he was Harry Potter after all and who knew whether that conversation had been recorded. "And as Heir apparent to the Potter line I demand to be released immediately."

"That's not possible." Lemmings told him smugly. "You are being tried for the murder Auror Finch."

"And this Auror would be who?" Harry asked plaintively.

"The man you killed at the zoo." Shacklebolt told him.

"You mean the scumbag that Mika killed." Harry corrected them. "Finch made the mistake of apparating us into the middle of his enclosure."

"You could have protected him." Shacklebolt frowned. "You're easily capable of doing magic to a level higher than the average Auror."

"Clearly not since I don't know how to cast the Cruciatus Curse." Harry deadpanned. "If you ask me Finch got what he deserved."

"So you do not deny standing by while a Ministry Official was killed?" Lemming asked.

"I don't do magic anymore, Minister." Harry told him simply and smirked when they looked up at the crystal only to find that he had told the truth. "I don't even have my wand anymore. I did my bit for this disgusting world and that's that."

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Potter." Lemming told him. "As punishment for being an accessory to the murder of a Ministry Official you will be held captive until you can make up for your transgressions by dealing with a problem we have."

"You mean you have created another psychopath and can't kill him yourself?" Harry scoffed. "I'm not fighting another war so you can forget it."

"It seems your options are rather limited right now, Mr. Potter." Lemming sneered and turned for the door.

"How well are we hidden here, Minister?" Harry asked the man's back.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. None of your pathetic Muggle friends will find you here." Lemming sneered and left the room and Harry glanced quickly up at the crystal to find it glowing a soft red at his words. He brought his eyes down and smirked at Shacklebolt who had obviously realised what Harry had done.

"It seems we're not so well hidden after all." Harry sneered. "Let me guess? The Ministry building in London?"

Shacklebolt wisely didn't answer his question and flicked his wand at the crystal to shut it off. "Who is Liam Goldrick?" He asked eventually.

"I told you, I am." Harry shrugged.

"But you didn't lie." Shacklebolt frowned. "How is that possible?"

"You have no idea." Harry told him simply and turned his head to once again ignore the man. He'd let Shacklebolt take that little bit of information to Dumbledore and let the old man struggle over the riddle for a while. Maybe he'd give it to Granger to look up but he doubted she'd be able to find any mention of a street kid that disappeared in London during the war. Maybe the stress of the riddle would cause the old man a heart attack.

Harry didn't look towards the door again for a few hours and was rather amused when two Aurors ran in and shut the door tightly behind them. "We're under attack!" They hissed to the Auror that had long since replaced Shacklebolt. Harry had been expecting Dumbledore to show up at any minute to try to get Harry to play their game but it didn't look like it was going that way.

"Shield the door." The Auror set to guard Harry ordered but Harry was shocked when the two new Aurors turned on the original Auror.

"Avada Kadavra!" One hissed and with a flash of green light Harry's vigilant observer collapsed to the ground.

"What the fuck was that?" Harry swore as the two men turned on him.

"We have orders to kill you." One told him in a rather offhand manner. "Our mistress was concise. We were to capture you if possible or kill you if it looked like you'd agree to their demands or escaped."

"Doesn't mean we can't have some fun in the meantime." The second one smirked. "Watch the door." He turned nasty eyes on Harry as he ordered his comrade and his spell lashed out with an almost silent 'crucio'.

Harry stared at the red beam of magic that had shuddered to a halt a mere foot from his chest and looked around frantically for a way to avoid the magic when he slipped back out of the moment but almost ten minutes of struggling didn't help him out of his chair. But it did let him think on the man's words though, he'd said that they were ordered to kill him if it looked like he'd agree or escape. Clearly he wasn't close to agreeing so the attack they'd mentioned must be somebody's attempt at breaking him out and whoever they were they'd have to unshackle him which meant he could simply walk out of here regardless of who his 'saviour' was.

Sighing at his luck he tried to force his body to relax and had to force himself to release time from his hold and accept the excruciating pain of the curse. The pain still came as a shock to him though and after a few moments he could taste blood on his lower lip. He retreated into his mind, hiding within the sanctuary of hundreds of lifetimes but his entire mind was shaking under the onslaught. The glittering crystal spires in his mind were beginning to crack and the fog that covered the lives he hadn't yet glanced was beginning to shrink away from him. He floated within his mind wishing that Cameron was with him and staring in horror as his mind was slowly broken apart until something happened that he couldn't accurately describe.

One moment he'd been scared of losing what sanity he had left and the next the fog was so far away from him that hundreds of lives flew around his mind, absorbing into the crystal spires of his consciousness, becoming a part of himself. Image flooded his mind, memories of a hundred thousand places, hundreds of lives and many millennia of lifetimes. What had started not even a few weeks ago as dreams of individual lifetimes had become a flood of emotions, memories and lives. He was truly Awakening under the touch of the pain curse and as his eyes snapped open his eyes burned with a hatred for the man before him.

Their eyes locked and the Wizard went pale but before Harry could even break out of the spell he had on him the door burst off of its hinges and the two Wizards were flung clear across the cell and into the wall with sickening crunches. Harry blinked a few times and drew in a deep breath to soothe his shuddering muscles before looking directly at Tamarack and Quinn. "You found me?" Harry frowned. "How?"

"We had some help from witches in Circle Daybreak." Tamarack told him as Quinn walked towards him and grabbed the manacle over his right wrist and with a colossal heave snapped the iron in two pieces letting Harry take his hand back. Quinn made quick work of the other three restraints before stepping back. Harry stood up but his limbs gave out from the after affects of the curse and he felt Tamarack catch him under the arms. He stood on his own after a moment. "We didn't know which cell you were in but we heard you screaming. What were they doing to you?"

"You don't want to know." Harry told her as she helped him walk towards the door and into the corridor. A quick gaze up and down it told him that the two Vampires had made quick work of the half dozen Aurors. "They were working for whatever psychopath this world has come up with most recently. Didn't want me around to fight her. Who's that?"

His eyes had found a man standing at the end of the corridor in front of one of the ornate lifts within the Ministry building. He was wearing a simple suit but looked perfectly comfortable in it. "Our help from the witches of Circle Daybreak." Quinn grunted simply moving to cover their back as Tamarack helped Harry walk along the corridor toward the Witch.

"There's an emergency exit down this way." The man informed them softly.

"They'll follow us." Quinn pointed out.

"Tamarack. Take Mr. Potter out of the emergency exit. Quinn and I will lead them off and meet up with you at the rally point." The man told them. Tamarack nodded at the order and Harry realised the Witch was pretty high up in the hierarchy of Circle Daybreak.

Harry let Tamarack walk him down the corridor but he could feel his limbs slowly getting weaker. His head was bursting with new information and he wanted nothing more than to lie down with Cameron and smooth it all out but right now they were in danger. Harry could have simply walked through the Ministry but he doubted he could get through the traps and spells they'd have up now without help and that meant staying with Tamarack.

"How did you find me?" Harry asked, barely hiding the worry that Circle Daybreak could find him at anytime.

"The Maiden of the Witches arrived to speak to you and we were waiting for the morning to come speak to you when we saw the body on the TV and the report that you'd been kidnapped somehow." Tamarack told him as they walked through the corridors. "The Maiden and her bodyguards used their magic to track you through Cameron."

"Where is he?" Harry was starting to sound desperate but he really needed his Soulmate right now and he didn't care about Tamarack knowing that.

"He's waiting for you at the rally point." Tamarack promised. "He wanted to come but..."

"He's not a fighter." Harry sighed. "Tamarack, what they did in there..."

"What?" Tamarack stopped walking. "Are you injured? I don't smell much blood."

"They used a spell that causes pain. It's worse that being burnt alive which, well, I've felt." Harry shuddered. "I've been Waking slowly ever since I saw Cameron but now it's just opened out."

"That's good right?" Tamarack asked with a frown.

"It's about three hundred voices screaming in my mind." Harry shivered. "I've just had three hundred lifetimes of memories open themselves to me. I can't go on much longer."

"Just hold on. The exits right there." Tamarack half lifted him and together they broke through the exit only to be hit by a face full of wind. It was late at night, under an open sky but the worst thing was that they were standing on a roof top and Harry could tell from the amount of wind and the sound around them that they were on the roof of a very tall building. "Shit." Tamarack swore.

"I think the exits lead to places throughout London." Harry said as they walked towards the edge of the roof to look for a way down. "Can you survive that?" He asked looking at the fifteen story fall.

"No." She told him. "We'll have to go back..."

"What?" Harry asked as she stopped talking.

"We're about to have company, the Wizards are on our trail." She told him. "And I don't see another hatch into the building."

"The exit probably replaced it." Harry sighed and backed up to the edge of the rooftop. Tamarack moved to half shield him but Harry made himself stand on his own just as a half dozen Wizards burst out onto the roof.

"Stop right there!" The first one shouted. "You've got nowhere to run!"

"Tamarack." Harry grabbed her arm in a tight grip when she bunched her muscles to attack. "You can't. Not against that many."

"We have no qualms with you, girl." The Auror said again. "Move out of the way so we can take him and you can walk away."

"Sorry but my friend would never forgive me." She said rather primly, as if taking down six Aurors was a normal daily warm-up before the gym.

"Then you'll die." The Auror spat and opened his mouth to cast a spell.

"Don't panic." Harry whispered before he grabbed onto his Vampire friend tighter and tipped himself, and her, straight backwards off of the edge of the building. She cried out in surprise before Harry felt her body go through a number of shifts and they rolled over as they fell as she almost instinctively put herself below him. Harry looped his arms around her torso.

"Harry?" She shouted over the wind as they plummeted. "Getting killed wasn't in the agenda!"

"Chill out, Tamarack!" Harry shouted back just as they reached the tenth floor. "Hold on!"

She tightened her own grip to his arms and Harry gave out a relieved breath as he spread out his wings, letting the wind push them up behind them as they fell, preventing another roll that would put Harry underneath the Vampire. With an almighty burst he thudded his wings down to slow them down and then locked them in place to turn their downward velocity into horizontal. His muscles screamed at the extra weight of a full person but he could lock his wings in place quite easily even if he'd suffer for it soon.

Their fall quickly turned into a glide and soon his wings were giving them enough lift to keep them in the air. He gave a few small strokes of his wings to keep them moving where he wanted and steered instinctively. It felt great to be in the air after the last day of captivity but he could have done without the additional weight so he could actually fly and not just cruise.

"Oh my god, Harry!" Tamarack gasped. "Are those wings?"

Harry looked down at her where the back of her head was under his chin. She was looking at his right wing, barely visible in the darkness but to a Vampire they'd be obvious. She reached out to touch his wing. "Don't Tamarack." Harry warned her. "If you put off my flight we might fall out. There's barely any thermals at night and it's only because we're over the city that I can stay up."

"You have wings." Tamarack pointed out.

"Yes, Tamarack." Harry assured her. "You're not going crazy. Where are we heading? I've only got a short time before I collapse."

"The rally point is Waterloo station." She told him. Harry nodded to himself and let his right wing loss its balance slightly to turn them west where he could actually see Waterloo from where they were. "Can you make it?" Tamarack asked worriedly and Harry knew she must be able to feel the tremors running through him.

"I'll get us as close as possible." Harry told her tiredly and concentrated solely on heading in the right direction and soon he was worried about missing buildings. He spotted a large garden about a mile south of the station and dropped towards it and by the time he was a few metres above it his wings couldn't remain rigid anymore and the two tumbled across the ground into a heap.

Harry quickly pulled his wings into his back and rolled over onto his back. "Harry?" Tamarack asked. "Are you alright?"

"I've been better." Harry told her sarcastically.

"Can you walk?" She asked.

"Help me up and I'll see." She lifted him to his feet but as soon as she let go his legs gave out and he would have fallen face first except she caught him. Harry felt his vision greying out but it wasn't until he felt Tamarack lift him completely into her arms that he let himself fall unconscious, finally letting the memories of his over lives overwhelm him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Tamarack walked out of the trees in the park that was their rally point with a sleeping Harry in her arms. His sleep wasn't peaceful but it was quieter than she'd heard the time she'd crashed at his apartment. She was having trouble imaging what his mind was doing, she knew it was tough for Old Souls to finally accept their past lives and the more times they'd been reincarnated the harder it got. Circle Daybreak had a few Old Souls, five at last count and the oldest was believed to be the oldest in the world at nearly twenty thousand, but she knew that Harry was as old as they came. He remembered a time when the Shapeshifters ruled which meant his first life was at least thirty thousand years ago and even assuming only one lifetime every century that meant three hundred lives to remember and she already knew that he'd had two this century including this one so that number could go either way.

She shuddered at the thought and decided to give more respect to the five Old Souls in Circle Daybreak. She spotted a small group and her eyes picked out the familiar features of Cameron, Quinn, Rashel as well as their four Witch guests who'd arrived the night before to speak to Harry.

Cameron spotted her and rushed over and she didn't resist as he took Harry into his arms. The young man was very light, even for his small stature but after seeing his wings she wasn't surprised. If he was built to fly then he's be as light as possible. When their descent had begun to slow she'd thought she'd gone crazy until she heard the heavy thud and felt the jerk as the wings had come down into her field of vision. She'd thought, for a moment, that Harry had hidden being a Shapeshifter and had turned into a bird but the wings had stretched at least five metres to either side of them.

"Cam?" Tamarack whispered as she leaned in so that Quinn couldn't hear her. "We fell from a roof top. He flew us away."

"He..." Cameron looked at her. "Please, Tamarack, don't tell anyone. Only Jez and I know in the entire world."

She gave him a small shake of the head to show she wouldn't just as Rashel came over. "Is he alright?"

"He's tired." Tamarack said before seeking out the Maiden. "He told me they tortured him and it caused his memories to open up completely."

"Oh god." Cameron pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead. "He'll go insane."

"Have faith, Prince." Aradia spoke up as she walked over and without needing to see touched Harry on the forehead. "His mind is strong."

Harry's eyes opened at the touch to his forehead but he didn't make any noise as his eyes found Aradia's sightless eyes before she continued to speak. "It's not safe here for him now. We must return to America where he can be protected."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	5. An Old Soul's mind

Temporal Illusion

A/N; Please read the message in bold at the top of my profile regarding updates. Please enjoy.

Chapter 5; An Old Soul's mind

_Sete leaned up in the saddle of his horse, pressing it to higher speeds as he raced towards the high walls that protected the Temple of Ra from the biting sand storms of the Egyptian desert. As he rode he thought back over the last few years. Ever since the memories had come to him in his dreams he'd been searching the world over for his old friend. He'd checked the place that Sete himself had hidden him away but found it empty so instead of searching for the Vampire he had searched for the one Thierry would hunt for. Hana of the Three Rivers Tribe. The search had led him across the whole of the continent to the far western reaches of the world and to the gentle sea and to the Land of the Gods. The merciless deserts of Egypt._

_He had finally found her in one of the Temples of the Gods, a lowly Priestess but he hadn't been the only one to find her. His own fate seem intertwined with the Beast as he had called her many times before. The first of the Vampires. His sister in one of his lives but a life that she had killed him in. The Beast had found Hana too and her pets had found Sete and died on the end of his sword but he didn't pretend to be able to stand against the Beast. He had done so before and fatally failed but perhaps this time he could spirit Hana off into the night until he could find Thierry._

_But he'd failed at that idea as well but he had to try once more. What was the good in remembering being Ryn if he couldn't fight for what Ryn had loved? He burst into the Temple's grounds and reigned in his horse but didn't bother to tie it up as he jumped off and dashed into the buildings searching for the Old Soul that Thierry was destined to love for eternity and yet forced to watch be murdered time and again by the bane of their existence. He searched room after room until he found her but his heart almost stopped when he saw her pinned to the wall by a man that it took Sete a moment to recognise. There in front of him, tearing out a girl's throat, Hana's throat, was Thierry himself._

_Sete drew his sword before he could think about it. He'd never managed to reach Hana in time before and had only been able to find a body left behind in Maya's wake but here in front of him was Thierry draining the blood from Hana's neck. "Thierry." Sete breathed out quietly in shock but it was loud enough. Thierry turned to look at him and frowned at him. "What have you done?"_

_Before Sete could get up the sense to raise his sword Thierry was inches from his face, his one hand over Sete's wrist and the other against his chest. He applied pressure to Sete's wrist and the bones there crumbled and shattered causing Sete to groan as pain shot through him. Sete couldn't even think to struggle as Thierry sunk his teeth into his neck and drained him._

_As he died all he could think about was what had happened to Thierry to change him like this._

Harry rasped in air and threw himself up colliding with a body that had been hanging above him. The first thing he realised was that Sete was screaming in mental agony within him but as the rest of him formed around Sete, absorbing another of the screaming lifetimes within this body, his training kicked in and in the confusion focused only on his immediate survival and there were too many people around him. All around the bed, filling the darkness with small movements.

Harry rolled out away from the other person sitting on the side of the bed and landed on the floor. He dodged past people but already knew that the door was out of reach for him so headed for the corner where at least he could put up a fight without being killed from behind. As he leaned into the corner he braced himself but was surprised when he felt a warm soothing sensation flood his mind and everything rushed back to him about where he was. He was home, at least the home in this lifetime and at this time. At least that's what his material home was. His heart's home was wherever Cameron was and Cameron had been the one he had collided with when he had woken up and was now the mind soothing through his own as the physical Soulmate stood in front of him. Harry shuddered and slid down the wall, cradled his knees to his chest and buried his head against his arms to calm himself.

"Right, we're leaving." He recognised Jez's voice announcing loudly.

"_Harry?"_ Cameron's thoughts echoed in his shattered mind. _"Let me in, please?"_

"_You are in."_ Harry couldn't help but think back.

"_I'm barely hearing your surface thoughts, love."_ Cameron told him. _"We're barely connected right now. I can't feel anything from you."_

"_Cameron, it's too much."_ Harry pleaded. _"You can't come in. You won't be able to stand it."_

"_Harry. I can take anything in the world if it means helping you."_ Cameron told him softly and dragged his head up from his arms. The room was empty now except for Harry and Cameron and Harry let Cameron pull him up and settle him on the bed. Cameron laid down and covered them with the duvet and Harry rolled into Cameron and buried himself in his arms, shaking and crying. Trying to make sense of all the screaming in his mind. Everything was laid bare and it was like being utterly lost. There was no sense of direction or order to his mind. No sense of what was open and what wasn't. There was no fog to hide the horrors of his old lives behind and just thinking about what atrocities had happened brought dozens of them flying across his vision.

He reached for Cameron mentally, begging him to save him and Cameron didn't hesitate and he felt Cameron's mind merge against the edge of his own but still Harry tried to hold back. To prevent Cameron from being hurt but Cameron was persistent and he sought out the one life within Harry that could stabilise all the others. He sought out A'Zia, seeking his help even though he was just a part of Harry. A'Zia was the part of Harry that had experienced everything there was in the world.

Slowly Cameron helped Harry to soothe out his thoughts. To smooth over the damage that the Cruciatus Curse had wrought on Harry's mind. Never before had Harry fully awakened at such speeds. Normally in a time when his life was threatened he'd partially awaken, gain the skills of another but he'd never awaken fully until later but now he was fully awakened with every moment of his lives over thirty thousand years scrambled within his mind, trying to sort themselves out.

Slowly Cameron used everything he already knew about Harry's past lives to find the parts of himself that Harry had already come to terms with. First A'zia the first and then Ryn the brother to the most famous Witches in history, Imazato the Samurai, Liam the Vampire Hunter, Nicolas the slave, Lucus the Witch Hunter's son, John the musician, Alexis the friend of a Witch and Ultan the warrior.

When Harry finally had those few to hide within he drew to himself and Cameron the memories of the latest dream. Those of Sete who had taken it upon himself to help Ryn's tribe-brother only to be murdered by that very man. _"I'm sorry, Harry." _Cameron told him not having to say aloud that he'd already known that Thierry was a Vampire Lord and had told Harry that he might not be the same.

"_I think there's something wrong about that though."_ Harry told the love of his life simply. _"I don't think I knew what I was seeing. I mean I don't think Sete really knew what was happening."_

"_You need sleep without any of these dreams."_ Cameron told him. _"I'm going to go and get the Witches to put you under a spell."_

"_Cam..."_ Harry winced as the mere thought of putting a spell on him flashed up memories like movies. Of Witches cursing him throughout the ages but mostly from Lucus, the poor boy that had been spelled to survive just long enough to feel himself being burnt to death.

"_I'll be here the entire time, Harry."_ Cameron promised him. _"I won't ever let anything happen to you."_

"_I'm scared, Cam."_ Harry didn't mind admitting it to Cameron. Cameron already knew.

"_I know, Harry, and I wish there was more I could do but I can only sit back and watch as you go through all of this pain."_ Cameron sounded so depressed and Harry realised that in the real world, where Cameron cradled Harry to his chest, that Cameron was crying. Harry sent him every feeling he had to spare. Sharing with Cameron everything that Harry felt for him. All the love and trust that was in his mind. The sense of protection that Cameron gave to him every moment of the day. _"We'll get through this together, Harry."_

Harry slowly pulled away from Cameron mentally and then physically and let Cameron kiss him before getting up out of bed. Harry turned on his side as Cameron slipped from the room and Cameron couldn't help but stand in the doorway and stare at Harry. He had imagined that Harry would be broken beyond repair but within Harry's mind just then he'd felt that immense strength in the centre of his mind that he'd felt from Harry every time he'd been in his mind. Harry had a core made of the strongest stuff Cameron had ever imagined and he realised now that it was made up of all the strengths of each of Harry's lives.

Cameron moved out into the sitting room of Harry's apartment and wiped at his face. The room was quite literally filled with people. There was Jez and Tamarack of course as well as Quinn and Rashel but also Harry's friend Nicky who had arrived as soon as she'd heard about Harry's abduction and Cameron knew that Jez and Rashel had taken her aside and tried to explain everything that was happening. Jez had explained that Nicky meant too much to Harry to leave her out of the loop. Harry needed her as much as any of the others. Also in the room were Aradia, Maiden of the Witches, and her three Witch bodyguards that had helped rescue Harry from the Wizards.

They all looked at Cameron as he walked inside but it was Tamarack that was suddenly in front of him and hugging him when she saw the tears. "It'll be alright, Cameron." She promised.

"I know." Cameron nodded. "His mind is so scattered right now, like an explosion went off but it's sorting itself out. The lives that were already a part of him are forming something like a core that all the rest is forming around."

"It will take more than this to break him." Aradia spoke up.

"Please, Aradia." Cameron pleaded with her. "Do you have something that will give him at least this night's sleep without the horrors?"

"We can try." She nodded and stood from the sofa. "But intervening in these situations is not an exact art. The power of an Old Soul's awakening is beyond even the strongest of us."

"Please, just try." Cameron begged. She nodded to him and moved closer and touched him on the cheek.

"Be strong, Cameron Drache." She told him before heading to the kitchen area with the other Witches.

"Is he alright?" Nicky accosted Cameron. She didn't yet trust him and Cameron didn't expect her to until she could speak to Harry.

"He's settled." Cameron told him. "I don't want to leave him for long though."

"We'll talk to the zoo, tell them that he's safe and try to sort out what's going to happen." Jez told them, taking Tamarack's hand in his own almost instinctively.

"If Harry is going to the US then we're going too." Nicky declared. Cameron could only nod slowly at her before heading back into Harry's bedroom to cradle him as Harry struggled with the chaos in his mind. He fell into a peaceful sleep once Aradia gave him a potion to drink but Cameron could feel his mind moving constantly and knew it was only a matter of a few hours before another of Harry's lives unfurled for him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Kinen_ _crouched in his tree spying down at the trail below him waiting for his quarry to arrive as he fingered his bow nervously. He'd been here for hours smeared in the leaves of the oak tree to hide his scent and wearing a small pouch that he'd gotten from a Witch who had claimed that her great grandmother had been in the final battle against the Amaru. A lot of Witches claimed that though but Kinen was different, he knew he had a tie to that final battle. He'd been there. Or rather A'Zia had. Kinen's other self. The one that had appeared in his mind as his sister was being eaten alive by a bear-shapeshifter. The one that had walked this world a hundred years ago during the great fires that had brought on this time of ice._

_Kinen had grown up as a hunter's son, travelling the forests, hunting for their tribe. The tribe that had been wiped out by a group of shape-shifters except for a select few that had managed to disappear into the night. Kinen among them. That had been when he was eight and he had spent months accepting A'Zia into his soul. The thirty season year old warrior from myths. An angel that had come to the aid of the Witches and Humans against the Great Amaru._

_Kinen hated Shapeshifters with every ounce of his body but A'Zia's temperate mind stayed his hand but the group he was waiting for had raided his tribe almost ten years ago and now Kinen was going to get his revenge. He drew his bow and aimed it at the first of the Shapeshifters, more a dog than a man and released the silver laced arrow straight into his heart._

Harry jolted up in the bed shaking as the images faded back into the rest of his mind. Kinen hadn't let the Shapeshifters get to him even when he was being overwhelm and had simply swallowed a small vial of poison. Kinen had been a scared boy with a dark past and a need to destroy those that had destroyed not only his life but A'Zia's. For an instant he thought he was alone until the feeling of an arm around his waist made him realise that Cameron was still sleeping and he didn't want to wake him knowing that for Cameron to sleep through anything he must have been really tired. Instead he laid back down and turned to embrace Cameron in his sleep, wiping the dried tears from his face and wishing that he didn't have to be the one to cause Cameron so much pain.

Cameron would of course say that Harry's pain was so much worse but Harry knew what it felt like to feel helpless and Cameron felt just that way even though Harry knew that he'd have gone mad if it wasn't for Cameron's constant worry and presence. In his mind he put Kinen in sequence between A'Zia and Ryn and wondered how many more memories he'd discover.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry didn't sleep the rest of the night and merely lay with his mind in turmoil, trying to smooth out the more panicked sections. He could barely stop himself from trembling at all the horrors he kept getting flashes off. Being killed more times than he could count and it seemed that destiny had it in for him. Very few time did he witness a peaceful death, most of the time it was violent and more often than not it was at the hands of a Witch, Vampire, Shapeshifter or Werewolf and even things like ghosts.

When Cameron woke up Harry turned to him and told him about Kinen and let Cameron worry over him and tell him off for not waking him up. In the end they both made their way into the living room to find several additional people that he hadn't expected among them two police officers and to his surprise David, his boss. Harry made to speak but the three didn't even look at him. Harry glanced around taking in Rashel, Jez, Nicky, the blind Witch Aradia, and lastly Tamarack and Quinn sitting opposite the three new comers.

"Nicky?" Harry asked quietly and she turned to see him and smiled happily and shot up and scooped him into a tight hug. Harry hugged her back rather bewildered by the fact she was there.

"_We told her almost everything." _Cameron's voice was in his mind. _"About you being an Old Soul and what that is and about the Night World. Jez told her about you and I being Soulmates."_

"_What did she say?" _Harry thought and knew that Cameron had heard it.

"_She didn't really. Just stayed silent. That was until you woke up screaming last night."_ Cameron told him. _"Then she just told me that she could handle the rest but if I ever let any harm come to you she'd hunt down every Night World citizen she could find."_

"_That sounds like her."_ Harry mused.

"_I don't know how you do it, Harry."_ Cameron's voice was filled of pride. _"One time you find friends that are happy to turn on you and then the next year you find so many people who are willing to take on the world to keep you safe."_

"When we get you safe, Harry, you and I are going to sit down and talk about your penchant for finding trouble." Nicky told him as she pulled away.

"We?" Harry asked.

"I'm coming to the US." She told him. "So is Jez. Even without you being in danger we'd still take Doctor Mitchell's offer."

"What about the Vets?" He asked referring to her summer work.

"I can get out of that early." She shrugged. She moved out of the way and Harry turned his attention back on the stock-still three in the middle of the sofa.

"What's happening?"

"Tamarack and Quinn are explaining how you were abducted by a man after his partner forced you into the Lion pen to elude the security patrol. They're telling them that for your safety you are going to go to a family friend's home in Vegas until you start at Prima." Rashel told him as she stood.

"Do I get a choice?" Harry asked her.

"We want to protect you, Harry." Aradia spoke up as she stood and moved through the furniture as if she weren't blind though her hand lightly traced the back of the sofa. "We can do that better within Circle Daybreak and if you can assist us in this time of need then we would be grateful. However nothing we ever decide for you will be against your will. You have a choice in everything. If you wish to remain here then that is what shall happen. If that is what you wish however we would ask that you allow us to assign you more permanent protection."

"You are the Maiden?" Harry asked as he moved towards her. She held up a hand and Harry took it gently and held onto it for a moment. "A Daughter of Hellwise, that's what all Witches call themselves but you're directly descended aren't you?"

"I am a Harmen. A Hearth-Woman." She nodded.

"Hecate would be proud to see you now." Harry told her and saw her tense up as she realised he wasn't just generalising. "A story for later on. When we are in Vegas."

"Then you will come with us?" She asked.

"I will." Harry nodded and Cameron wrapped his arm around his waist knowing how hard it was for Harry to say that he'd step into the Night World. "I know that Cameron would leave the Night World behind for my sake, all but his brothers and sisters, but I would do the opposite for him. I will step into the Night World for his sake and for the people he cares about."

"I have felt the fracturing in your mind and can only imagine what must have been done to cause such a thing and if anyone can be of help it is the Old Souls within Circle Daybreak, many of whom have experienced horrors like your own." She told him.

"When do we leave?" Harry asked.

"If you are willing then we shall leave within the hour." She told him. "I would prefer to leave the country before the Wizards attempt to trace you. Our spells can only work for so long and only more permanent Enchantments can keep you hidden long term and I do not have the power or time to cast them now."

"Then please, Cameron and I need to talk for a while in private and also I need to pack." Harry told her. "Can you ensure that Quinn and Rashel escort Nicky to get anything she needs and Tamarack does the same for Jez?"

He wanted people he could trust to protect his best friends and Quinn was a good fighter. Aradia nodded and Harry turned to retreat to his room with Cameron close behind. Harry turned into him and merely leaned into his chest as he settled his nerves and let Cameron soothe him both physically but more importantly mentally.

"_I'll protect you till my dying breath."_ Cameron told him and Harry could feel all the love through their bond and also Cameron's imagination running away with him. At the very top was the concept that perhaps Cameron could show Harry off to his older brother.

"_You can tell him as soon as we arrive."_ Harry thought across the bond.

"_Huh?" _Cameron asked.

"_Your brother."_ Harry explained showing he'd seen the thought. _"I know how much you want his approval. I know how much he means to you."_

Cameron sighed and squeezed Harry tighter and Harry merely clung to him, resting his head on his shoulder for a long time unwilling to break away and loose that comfort and strength.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_The fog pressed into his face as he ran through the trees as fast as he could but he didn't regret trying to run. He'd managed to avoid recapture for two weeks now and that was a feat in and of itself. Kevin risked a glance behind him as he heard the snap of trees and the panting of an animal and his eyes found a small shadow heading for him. A dog, one of the Shapeshifters that lived in Black Dawn. The Night World Conclave that had been his life from his first breathe and would be to his last. He'd tried to run and that had been pointless but then he had to do it._

_He turned to concentrate on where he was running but ran straight into someone. Impossibly strong hands held his upper arms and he knew he was dead. A Vampire held him in a vice like grip and laughed in his ear as he lowered his head towards his throat. White light burst behind Harry's eyes and a sharp pain lanced through him and he realised after a moment that it wasn't from the Vampire's teeth but from his own head. The headache was immense but when it faded he found that he'd twisted out of the Vampire's grip and shoved him backwards, carrying both of them into the side of a tree._

_The Vampire was completely still and his hands let Kevin pull free. Kevin had pushed the Vampire into a low, sharp, branch on the tree, impaling him. _"Run!"_ A voice seemed to tell him and his instincts screamed at him and he turned to run even as the dog howled and leapt for him. Whatever had made him rum made him scoop up and rock and with deadly accuracy he twisted as he ran and threw the rock like a missile, slamming it into the dog's head._

_What he needed was a sharp spear. Something he knew he could use to kill the Vampires and wound the others. He stumbled as he realised he thought he could actually use a spear properly but he didn't have time to think about it. He could hear them closing in on him, no longer playing with him now that he'd killed one of their own. He screeched to a halt as the ground suddenly ending with a sudden drop off that led down a sharp cliff. He put his back to the cliff and that was the last mistake he made. He just about heard the sound of wings before something sharp dug into the back of his neck and wrapped around him. He dropped to the ground to try to dislodge it but it accepted the pain to dig its beak into his vulnerable neck. He'd gone from nearly being drained by a Vampire to bleeding out because of a bird Shapeshifter._

Harry jerked away and grabbed at his throat before feeling arms wrapping around him and the feeling of a tight seatbelt around his chest. He was in the car and Cameron was holding him and everything was alright in his world. Not in Kevin's though. Not for a slave that, like Nicolas, had known nothing but slavery.

Harry had obviously fallen asleep in the back of the hire car that one of the Witches was driving. Rashel, Quinn and Cameron were also in his car while the other two hire cars took the rest. Jez had kicked up a fuss about not being able to stay with his best friend but the others were concerned that too many of the non-fighters in the same place wouldn't do them any good and eventually Tamarack had convinced her Soulmate of the wisdom of the layout. In the end Jez had gone with Tamarack and Nicky in one of the other cars while the other Witches and Aradia travelled together._e searched room_

"_Tell me." _Cameron told him and Harry didn't argue with him and merely leaned into Cameron so that they were sitting normally again but with Harry resting under his arm and half hiding his face. His eyes flickered around the car and saw Rashel leaning around Cameron slightly, checking that he was alright. The Witch that was driving kept stealing glances back at him but didn't comment. Quinn was a surprise though, he was staring at Harry around his chair with deep concern on his face. Harry had quite clearly become more than just an Old Soul as far as Quinn was concerned and for the first time Quinn realised and even sympathised with the pain and horror that Harry was going through. Maybe starting to worry that trying to protect Harry from the outside dangers was pointless when Harry was clearly going insane from within.

"_You're not going insane."_ Cameron told him abruptly showing once again that Cameron was so attuned to Harry's thoughts that he could pick up every self-loathing thought that flickered across his mind.

With a combination of words and images Harry showed Cameron the contents of his nightmare as well as a few little bits from Kevin's life. He'd been a cook within a Conclave surrounded by tall mountains in a dominating black castle that was almost always surrounded by thick banks of fog. It was one of the only lives where he had no idea where it laid within the greater scheme of things. He hadn't known when he was or even where the conclave was. All of the slaves had been born within the Conclave and nobody had stepped foot outside. Kevin had survived there until his sixteenth birthday when he'd tried to escape and died only unlocking a few of the skills learnt by Ryn and Ultan yet none of their memories before he'd been killed by the Shapeshifter.

By the time they'd finished talking through Kevin's life they were pulling up in the hire car centre at Heathrow Airport and three men with trolleys came out to the cars. Harry frowned at the help but Quinn leant in as they all got out of the car. "Aradia decided to pull some strings. We'll be fast tracked." Quinn told him and Harry congratulated himself on not shying away from the Vampire. "We don't want to spend hours hanging around if the Wizards think you might come this way."

Harry spared him a slight nod and jumped slightly when Aradia took hold of his left arm and linked their elbows together. Harry turned to look at her but she merely graced him with a smile. Harry actually found her presence soothing, not nearly as soothing as Cameron on his other side but still nice to have. The burden of her visions and the things she _saw_ that the others missed gave her an understanding of what Harry was going through. An understanding that was trumped only by another Old Soul or by Cameron who could actually see the turmoil it was causing Harry.

It didn't take them much longer than an hour to get through customs and for Aradia, Cameron, Quinn, Rashel, Tamarack and the three other Witches to clear their passports and they boarded a British Airways 747 and went into the Sleepers Lounge where they had a bit of privacy. Harry was automatically led to one of the window seats by Cameron, Tamarack and Rashel and he sat down inside the little cubby space while Cameron took the space beside him and the others took seats in all directions, effectively blocking Harry from the rest of the airplane. In fact, with all eleven of them the closest stranger to Harry was half way across the plane.

"You ever flown before, Harry?" Rashel asked him as she leaned forward.

Harry frowned before turning to her. "No." He sounded half surprised.

"See, there's always something new to experience." Jez announced and turned in his seat to grab Harry's hand.

"It's easy, Harry." Cameron soothed him being able to feel exactly how anxious Harry was feeling and knowing why. After everything that Harry had done in all his lives he didn't like being out of control and flying in a plane, thousands of feet above the ground came under the out of control heading. They strapped themselves in as the plane began to taxi and Harry merely took Cameron's hand in his own making Cameron smile at him reassuringly.

The plane started to speed up and Harry shut his eyes as he felt the plane reach up into the air and he almost relaxed when he didn't feel the abrupt landing of the plane again and risked a glance out of the window to see the M25 motorway curving away underneath them as the plane banked up into the Northwest for their journey into the west.

"Every minute we're putting another few miles between us and the Wizards." One of the Witches leaned over to tell them.

"_And that much closer to the Night World."_ Harry thought and knew that Cameron's mind was linked to his enough to hear it. Cameron spread his mind into Harry's, warming it up slightly. _"Unfortunately they've killed me far more times than the Wizards."_

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_The courtyards were utterly silent as he perched on the top of the castle wall using the side of one of the towers to hide himself from the patrolling soldiers. Imazato would be proud of his ability to do this without taking life but not in the means he was using. Calamy had watched his entire family being executed by the French for helping the English even though all they'd done was take in two wounded English soldiers. Just as his mother and father had been beheaded Calamy's mind had broken and reformed in the space of an instant and he'd broken free of his captors. The eight year old had killed them and scaled the wall and vanished. He'd kept running east, through Europe and Asia until he'd reached Japan. There he'd used what he'd learnt when he'd Awakened to further his training to be a Ninja, completely not what Imazato would have liked but necessary._

_He'd returned to France at twenty a completely different person and taken his revenge on the Count that had ordered his family's execution. After that he'd respected Sete, Ultan and Ryn and travelled Europe in search. Becoming a mercenary as he hunted down any of three people that were as timeless as he was. He hunted down Vampires to get information and his hunt for Thierry, Maya or the reincarnation of Hana had led him back to his home country where the soon to be sixteen year old Lady Harriett was about to be wed to the son of the very man that had ordered his family killed._

_He didn't know why Thierry had killed Hana in Ancient Egypt but he knew that Sete had been confused by the change in Ryn's friend and Calamy didn't want to believe it either. A movement in the shadows of the courtyard attracted his attention as a stealthy figure moved through the castle. The person, a man, stepped out of the shadows and with a mere glance at the guard on the doors sent him tumbling to the ground, unconscious. A powerful Vampire._

_It took Calamy a few minutes but he managed to follow the Vampire without being spotted by any of the guards and followed the Vampire through the castle to the east side. He approached the open door that he knew was to Lady Harriett's rooms and drew the sturdy wooden sword that he used to kill Vampires and slid through the doors._

_The Lady's hand maiden was unconscious on the ground in the middle of the first room and he could hear talking in the bedroom so he slipped through the room to get a view. Lady Harriett had a good resemblance to Hana of so many thousand years ago and she looked wary as she watched the Vampire slowly close on her. So many emotions flickered across her expression, want being one of them but also fear. She'd been warning herself away from him again just like she had before. Calamy's other selves had seen the notes she left herself but apart from the time he caught up to her just as she died in Egypt he hadn't seen who had killed her._

_Thierry, for that was who is was, half turned to look at Calamy, having obviously felt his presence in the doorway. "We don't want to be disturbed, do we Lady Harriett?"_

"_With the amount of mental power you're throwing at her, Thierry, it's amazing she's even still conscious." Calamy raised the sword and Thierry turned to face him properly. Clearly amazed that Calamy knew his name._

"_And who are you?"_

"_So many people." Calamy smirked at him. "Though you should know that."_

_Thierry's eyes narrowed before a thoughtful look came over his face. "Ryn?" He asked and clearly got his answer from Calamy's hard expression. "I just keep running into you."_

"_Why do you keep killing her?" Calamy asked even though Harriett was standing against the wall in confusion over what was going on._

_Thierry just smirked and Calamy took a moment to recognise that particular type of arrogant smirk and he reacted within an instant as Thierry leapt at him. Calamy drove the sword upwards with all of his weight and as Thierry struck him the sword drove into his side. He knew that Thierry had been able to dodge the blow slightly but Calamy had shocked him with his skill as he changed the attack half way through but not enough to counter Thierry's speed._

_Thierry gave an angry growl and in that instant Calamy saw his eyes. They weren't Thierry's eyes but another Vampire's. Maya's. "Maya." Calamy hissed as understanding flooded him. It wasn't Thierry killing Hana but Maya hunting her down and making her think that Thierry was murdering her. So that if Thierry ever did find her before Maya he'd never have a chance of being with her._

_Maya shoved him away like a cannon ball to the chest, sending him crashing through the edge of a cupboard and into the stone wall. He felt so much of his chest crumble he was amazed that when he hit the ground he was still alive. He couldn't feel his limbs and only felt almost overwhelming pain from his chest and back. He coughed out blood but Maya turned her back on him still looking perfectly like Thierry except now her blood leaked from her side where Calamy had pierced her with wood._

"_Hana!" Calamy tried to gasp out. "Run!"_

_Harriett looked at him in surprise though she was pale and shaking like a leaf and Maya laughed and grabbed the almost sixteen year old girl and before anything could be said she tore at the side of her neck. Draining her while Calamy could do nothing but watch._

_His life began to fade until he felt a sudden burst of energy and his eyes burst open to see himself looking directly at Thierry's face again. He couldn't struggle away from his grip in his state but when he felt a mind against his own he recognised it not as the evil of Maya but as the real Thierry. He shoved everything he could about what was happening at Thierry and saw his old friend's eyes widen in shock and desperation before Calamy began to go limp._

"_My dear friend." Thierry whispered at him sadly and leaned in. The last thing that Calamy felt was the Vampire kissing him gently on the forehead in way of a farewell._

Harry gasped as he woke up. It was dark and not only because he had a blanket pulled up almost to his head and he was blocked by Cameron. The aircraft interior was also darkened but as Harry took a look around it was only to see that his dream hadn't attracted too much attention.

"_Are you alright?"_ Cameron asked tentatively and Harry opened his mind to the link and let Cameron flood into his head. Let the world slip away as it became just the two of them surrounded in the crazed intricacies of Harry's tortured mind. The foremost of the memories filled with that of Calamy.

"_I'll be okay."_ Harry told the love of his life and was actually far calmer than Cameron had been expecting. _"It was Maya killing Hana all along. She just appeared to look like Thierry but Calamy died in the real Thierry's arms after Maya killed him and Hana."_

"_Oh, Harry."_ Cameron sighed in defeat and Harry felt the waves of Cameron's own desperation. He couldn't stand not having a way to stop the pain and suffering that Harry was going through.

"_I don't mind all of this."_ Harry told him. _"I don't mind being an Old Soul. It gives my life a purpose and I don't mind all the fights and deaths because I did them to save people in most cases. They mean something."_

"_But I don't want you to die this time."_ Cameron told him and Harry wasn't sure if Cameron meant for him to hear it. It wasn't something they'd ever tried to discuss before. When Harry died he'd come back but when Cameron died he wouldn't. Harry wasn't sure he could live without Cameron anymore and the idea of living so many lives on into eternity was almost too much for him.

"_I'm not going to die any time soon, Cam."_ Harry told him.

"_How do you know?"_ Cameron asked.

"_Because I have you to protect me."_ Harry told him before pushing himself out of his own mind to meet Cameron's mind equally and the two simply fell together to share their thoughts, emotions and feelings.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

They came back to reality as a mind brushed over their own and Cameron reacted against its intrusion even as Harry's mind shoved up barriers of the worst things he had witnessed. Cameron rather instinctively threw the horrible memories at the person who's mind had met theirs even as Harry opened his eyes and saw Tamarack raising her hands in surrender from the Sleepers seats in front of them. Harry glanced at Cameron who was glaring at her.

"Don't do that." Cameron told her.

"I just thought you should know where're coming down to land." Tamarack defended. "I wasn't going to actually intrude and did you really have to do that to me?" She turned to Harry at the last part.

"It wasn't me that threw them at you." Harry defended quietly even as he reached over for Cameron's hand and squeezed it to calm him down. Cameron was pissed purely because he knew that every time somebody other than himself intruded against Harry's mind Harry recognised it and his memories became even more crazed as Harry panicked.

"There's a couple of cars waiting for us outside the airport." Aradia told them as soon as they had landed. "I won't be travelling with you because I don't want to draw attention to you and I'm rather obvious to any Night World. I'd suggest the same for Cameron too..."

"Not a chance." Cameron started but Aradia clearly hadn't finished.

"However," She stressed. "I know you won't let him out of your sight."

"We'll travel with Harry." Nicky announced glancing at Jez who nodded. "That way they'll think that Cameron is just covering as a normal human and even if they think it strange they'll not notice Harry in particular."

"I don't like the idea of you jumping in front of me." Harry told her.

"Tough." Nicky told him primly before standing up and grabbing her carry on from the locker. Cameron laughed at Harry even though he tried not to and reached up for Harry's bag and his own before tugging Harry out of his seat. Harry stepped around Cameron as they walked so he was following Nicky and he grabbed her hand to show that he did appreciate her concern.

As they got in line at Customs where he, Jez and Nicky had to go in a different direction to the others Harry leaned in to her and Jez moved closer so Harry could talk to them both without anyone else hearing. "Do you both realise how dangerous the Night World is?"

"I've seen it in Tam's mind." Jez blushed slightly as Harry and Nicky both looked at him in amusement. Jez and Tamarack had been rather private about their relationship but Harry and Cameron knew that they had fallen for each other just as Harry and Cameron had. The only reason they weren't always attached like Harry and Cameron were was because Tamarack was concerned about her mission here and that was protecting Harry and Cameron and she couldn't do that if she spent all of her time with Jez. Harry knew that and hated it. Jez needed the happiness in his life just as Harry did. "Some of it's beautiful but then some of it..."

"Some of it." Harry nodded to show he agreed. "Nicky, sometimes it's the best place in the World but if you get on the wrong side of it then it bites hard."

"And as three humans we're already on the wrong side from the start." Jez told her.

"They've got a couple of laws that guide them." Harry told her because he knew that Jez already knew.

"Don't tell the humans about it." Nicky nodded and Harry knew that Jez had already warned her about that one when he told her about it.

"And don't fall in love with humans." Harry finished. "Not only do we all know about it but Jez and I have both fallen in love with members of the Night World." Harry didn't need to look at Jez to know that was true. "If a Night Worlder falls for a human both of them are killed. It's as simple as that and Cameron's status won't prevent that."

"Cameron's status?" Nicky asked.

"I didn't tell you before." Jez grinned apologetically. "The Shapeshifters are ruled by a ruling house and the 'King' is Cameron's father."

"He's not the heir." Harry pointed out. "His older brother is."

"Sucks to be him." Nicky said.

"The problem is that we three are targets and because of Jez and me so are Tamarack and Cameron. Cameron is also high profile, a lot of Night Worlders will know what he looks like and he can't defend himself." Harry explained. "We can't make a mistake that costs them their lives and I can't let the two of you get hurt."

"We know, Harry." Nicky sighed and touched him on the arm.

"No, I'm serious, Nicky." Harry told her needing her to really understand. "I've been through too much in the last thirty thousand years and I can't lose everything after the last nineteen years I've just had."

"Thirty thousand years..." Nicky almost laughed though it was out of nervousness more than anything else.

"Look, I've dragged you into this world and you didn't really have a choice." Harry started.

"We had a choice, Harry." Nicky told him. "We chose to help you."

"But you're both too good to have not helped. That's what I mean." Harry sighed. "It's my fault you two are now in danger and I don't want you to get hurt so no matter what happens you stay safe."

"I can't speak for Nicky, Harry." Jez told him. "But Tamarack... she means a lot to me. I suppose you understand how much. That makes any of this risk worthwhile. If it wasn't for you I would never have met her."

"Oh damn." Nicky looked around them. "I think we lost Jez somewhere on the plane."

Harry laughed as his best friends started bickering and as the queue moved forwards they bickered over him but kept at his sides, lightening the mood dramatically. They met up with the others just through customs and found them already waiting with their luggage.

"Where are we going anyway?" Harry asked Aradia.

"We're going to a mansion on the edge of the city. It's where Circle Daybreak is run from." Aradia told him. "They've agreed to house you until you decide what to do."

"Who's house is it?" Harry asked.

"Mansion on the edge of Las Vegas?" Cameron frowned. "You can't mean Thierry Descoudres."

Aradia smiled and nodded gracefully though she didn't seem to understand what Cameron's shock was for. "He has always been a friend to people like yourselves and you'll soon understand why."

Harry gazed at her for a moment and she frowned at the look in his eyes. "I already know why."

"Do you?" Aradia seemed surprised and Harry finally had an idea of exactly what she knew about him. Clearly she knew that Harry would be pivotal in this coming war since it had been her vision in the first place but she clearly hadn't known exactly how old Harry was. Clearly Tamarack had told her very little, perhaps nothing more than that one of the Princes of the Shapeshifters had met his Soulmate who was an Old Soul. That was basically what they planned to tell anyone. Cameron had already agreed that it would be his situation which made protecting Harry important.

"Why take us to him?" Harry pressed.

"He is very interested in the son of the Ruler of the Shapeshifters being in such a situation." Aradia told him. "While he is not officially with Circle Daybreak and neither are the Witches we are trying to find out which sides people will choose if war comes upon us."

"I wouldn't think that the Night Worlders would chose different side." Harry spoke up even as they left the airport and headed to the cars where they would split up until they arrived at their destination.

"Things are changing." Aradia told him before she let one of her escorts guide her into a black limo.

"Come on, babe." Cameron whispered in his ear as Harry was too distracted to notice that the others were getting into a black Mercedes. _"Are you alright?"_ He asked telepathically as soon as Harry was in the car and it was pulling away with Tamarack at the wheel and Nicky in the front seat. Jez, Cameron and Harry were in the back.

"_I just never thought to run into Thierry this fast."_ Harry sighed.

"_Is that a bad thing?"_ Cameron asked.

"_The only times I remember seeing him in the last twenty thousand years is when I was dying or when Maya took his form."_ Harry sighed. _"I don't know what to say to him."_

Cameron surprised him by laughing and it took a while before he was able to calm himself. He looked at Harry's offended look and quickly pecked him on the lips filling Harry's body with that tingling sensation that came through their connection. _"Why's that so funny?" _Harry asked.

"_Because of all the things to worry about that's the worst you can think of."_ Cameron's mind, against his own, soothed out any other worry Harry could have. _"You realise that he's the oldest Vampire in existence now that Maya has been proven dead. He's the strongest and he's a major player in the Night World Council."_

"_And I know he's been in love with a human for twenty thousand years breaking the Night World laws even before they'd been written."_ Harry said to calm Cameron down. He knew, and could feel, exactly how scared Cameron was for Harry right then. Bringing Harry straight into Las Vegas, a place almost completely owned by the Night World and taking him to the mansion of the oldest of the Vampires who was revered and feared by most of the Night World. _"Besides I don't need to fear him because I know you'll protect me."_

"_You're the one who's been a Vampire Hunter more than once."_ Cameron managed to sound meek as he spoke though Harry could feel the humour in his mental voice that belied it as a joke. Harry let himself sink into the feeling of Cameron's mind as they approached the edges of the city and where the casinos and hotels gave way to houses which grew larger as they went until they pulled through large black gates and onto an open drive giving view of a massive mansion that was almost half the size of Hogwarts and had more grounds than Marwell Zoo.

Harry spotted a pen housing horses off to the left of the drive and found himself longing for the Zoo again and the career he'd chosen for himself. He missed the animals and felt sorry for Choto on his own and for the keepers who'd have to chase the Orang-utan around the zoo every time he escaped. _"We'll find a way for you to continue."_ Cameron told him, listening into the wisps of his thoughts. _"You love working there and I won't take that away from you even if we have to go live on a safari in Africa to get you what you want and to stay safe."_

"_I want to fly too."_ Harry sighed. It had been a couple of days now since he'd used his wings to save himself and Tamarack and they'd pained him since then even hidden as they were. He desperately wanted to bring them out even just once but he'd barely been alone and now that he was surrounded by Night World people he couldn't risk going flying without being spotted by all the ones that could see in the dark so well.

"_I know."_ Cameron sighed. _"I can feel it in your mind every time you get the urge and have to fight it down."_

Before Harry could respond the car pulled up outside the mansion's large front doors alongside the limo that had taken Aradia away from the airport and just as they were getting out of the car a black sedan arrived with Quinn and Rashel who had clearly followed them at a distance to make sure they were safe.

Harry looked around barely being able to keep his anxiety at bay and needed Cameron who couldn't risk taking Harry's hand in case the mansion was being watched. Harry could feel that Cameron was still a little scared about Harry being spotted and killed or even about meeting Thierry who he knew had the duty of killing them both and it wouldn't take many Night Worlders long to recognise Harry, Jez and Nicky as humans.

A man came out of the house as Quinn and Rashel joined the five of them and greeted Quinn with a smile that belied what he was and made Harry tense up slightly before forcing himself to relax. The Vampire could have been any age and Harry knew that they didn't give away what they wanted until they already had it and that was normally after they were already sucking the blood from your body.

"_Harry, stop it."_ Cameron groaned into his mind and Harry reigned in his thoughts that had been filled with flashes of Vampires attacking him.

"_Sorry."_ Harry told him meekly just as the Vampire looked at him, saw his eyes and surprised Harry by nodding his head with respect.

"Mr. Potter." The Vampire greeted him. "My name is Nigel. The Maiden told us of your arrival. I'm afraid that Lord Thierry has had to attend to something of importance in the city centre but he has been told of your arrival and will be here soon. In the meantime I've been instructed to escort you all to the gallery. There are others there that would like to meet you."

"By others you mean...?" Harry prompted, surprising himself by his level tone that didn't show any of his fear.

"Others like you, Sir." Nigel told him and Harry frowned at the sir part.

"_You're going to be respected, Harry." _Cameron whispered into his mind. _"That's the way it is. He knows you're an Old Soul."_

"You mean Old Souls?" Harry asked.

"Sorry, sir." Nigel paused. "I meant others like yourself and Mr. Drache."

"Ah..." Harry muttered. "Then I suppose you should lead the way."

As soon as they were in and the door was closed Harry sought out Cameron's hand and held it tightly even as Jez and Tamarack moved closer together and so the three Soulmate couples and Nicky headed up through the mansion to a large gallery on the top floor. One side of the room was lined by large windows and the room itself was filled with comfortable looking chairs, art and at the far end was a Grand Piano. In between the door and the piano however were a number of people and Harry was forced to stop as he took them in. There were five of them, three Vampires and two that could either be humans or Witches. They looked up as Jez made a sound to see Harry, Cameron, Jez, Tamarack, Nicky, Quinn and Rashel enter.

"Quinn." One of the Vampires, the only one standing up greeted with a toothy grin. "What have you drug up this time?"

Harry eyed him and Cameron guided him forwards, perhaps a little faster than Harry would have liked. "Ash, shut up." The other male Vampire rolled his eyes. This one had his arm draped across the shoulder of a tiny girl who seemed almost too young to be there but at another look Harry realised that she was clearly a mid teenager. Maybe sixteen or seventeen in body but could be any age since she was a Vampire as well.

The two stood up as did the other two 'mortals' and Harry noticed the necklace that the 'mortal' girl was wearing. A Witch amulet and now that Harry could see her eyes parts of him screamed at him that she was a Witch. Mainly Liam. The guy she stood with looked human to Harry though.

The Vampire that had told Ash to shut up turned to Cameron. "You're Cameron Drache then?" Cameron nodded beside Harry. "My name's James, this is my Soulmate, Poppy."

Cameron shook his hand but Harry stuffed his left hand in his pocket in a clear sign that he wasn't about to shake anybodies hands and James didn't try. "So even the Shapeshifters are being hit then?" Ashe asked in amusement. "I bet your dad's not impressed."

"Ash, don't make me hurt you." The Witch narrowed her eyes at Ash.

"Fine then." Ash sighed. "I was just having some fun. I'm getting bored."

"We know." Both the Witch and James groaned at the same time.

"I'm sorry." The Witch smiled. "My names is Thea and this is Eric. I'm a Witch, Eric's human and James, Poppy and Ash are all Vampires. James and Ash were born as humans and Poppy was turned last summer. I'm not sure, do you all know the differences?" Thea asked glancing at Nicky, Jez and then Harry.

"They've been told." Cameron spoke up. "Like James said, I'm Cameron and no, my father doesn't know where I am." Cameron narrowed his eyes at Ash who grinned as if he wasn't being told off by the younger of two Princes of the Shapeshifters who demanded the respect and obedience of any Shapeshifter they ran into. "This is Harry, my Soulmate, Tamarack and her Soulmate Jeremy."

"Jez." Jez growled as he slapped Cameron in the back making Harry smile for the first time since walking into the mansion. Poppy smiled as she caught his expression and he lost his smile slowly though not because of her.

Cameron grinned over his shoulder at Jez before continuing. "This is Nicky and I suppose you know Quinn and Rashel."

"So, you're the Old Soul?" James asked as he and Poppy sat down where they'd been before. Cameron led Harry down to sit on the same sofa so that Harry was leaning against his side. Tamarack, Nicky and Jez took a sofa to themselves while Quinn and Rashel sat on stools behind Harry.

"Yeah." Harry muttered.

"You don't say much for an Old Soul." Ash pointed out.

"You know any?" Harry asked.

"Well we've got a couple here." Thea told him. "I'm sure they'll be able to talk you through it."

"Don't get me wrong when I say this but I've had enough experience with it." Harry told her.

"He's a little taken aback right now." Rashel spoke up. "He was captured by some nasty people back in England and they..."

"They what?" Thea asked.

"It doesn't matter. But it kind of overloaded him when everything opened up to him." Rashel continued.

Harry glanced at her to thank her for not giving out all the details. "So how did you get to know each other?" Eric asked.

"I'm training to be a vet." Harry told them. "And I was working at Marwell Zoo and Cameron came visiting with his family."

"We felt a connection and when it came time for me to leave I couldn't." Cameron continued for him.

"By the time he came back to the Zoo I was starting to awaken." Harry shrugged.

"What's it like?" Eric looked curious and he leaned forwards slightly.

Harry was silent for a time but nobody else spoke. "I was born into a Conclave off the east coast of the US." Harry started making everyone frown except for Cameron who quickly knew who Harry was talking about. "At least that's what the new slaves that were brought there said it was. I didn't know what the US was."

"I didn't know there were any conclaves like that left." Ash spoke up.

"Shhh!" Poppy told him.

"Anyway, I had a little sister that I looked after but there was this other slave that wanted her but she didn't want him and he knew he couldn't get her with me around so he stole a snake I was supposed to look after and when my Master found out he was furious."

"Did you run away?" Thea asked.

"I didn't get the chance. I killed the slave that wanted my sister to protect her and the next thing I knew my Master was ripping open my throat and draining my blood." Harry said and saw the instant that the others realised he was talking about a past life. "I woke up from that a few weeks ago and it feels like that was when it actually happened and not three hundred years ago. I have to remind myself that my little sister isn't still a slave and that I'm too late to try to rescue her from that life."

"I'm sorry." Eric apologised for asking the question in the first place.

"Are most of your lives like that?" Ash asked.

"It seems that I am fated to run into the Night World in most of my lives. I have a couple of pleasant lives in my mind but most tend to end in a similar way." Harry sighed. "And with the knowledge that there is a chance that the people that have killed me are still out there somewhere."

Quinn flinched so dramatically that he drew everyone's attention. "Quinn?" Thea asked.

"Hunter Redfern..." Quinn started.

"Who was also the one that killed Harry in that story." Cameron hissed out.

Quinn winced before continuing. "He ordered me to hunt down a couple of kids in Boston in 1872. A Witch and a human boy she'd grown up with and told. I did it."

"You were the human boy?" James asked and Harry nodded and turned to look at Quinn seeing the horror in his eyes. He'd clearly fully recalled the events that had happened over a hundred years ago.

"I can imagine the pain." Thea told him. "I'm sorry."

"Imagining is one thing..." Harry started.

"But really understanding is something completely different." A new voice spoke up and they all looked towards the door and only the five Vampires in the group weren't surprised at the voice. They'd heard them come in or at least the girl. She looked about the same age as Thea, about sixteen or seventeen. At her side was somebody that took Harry's breath away. His mind went completely chaotic and even though he'd known that eventually he'd meet Thierry he hadn't been ready for it and what he'd said to Cameron in the car about not knowing what to say had been true.

He managed to drag his attention away from Thierry to look at the girl again and a dozen voices in his head, some that he really knew and others that were now a part of him but not as much as those like Liam and Nicolas which he'd relived, screamed at him that this was Hana. She looked so much like the original Hana of the Three Rivers Tribe that it was uncanny. It was the same Soul but not the same body yet she could be the twin of the original Hana. His eyes were finally drawn to the birthmark on her cheek, it was pale, barely darker than her skin yet Harry could see it easily enough to recognise it from so many lifetimes yet it had never been so obvious.

Harry resorted to going on the defensive which meant the parts of him like Imazato, Ultan, Liam and A'Zia came to the fore led by the three that Harry really knew about that had dealt with Thierry and Hana before. Ryn, Sete and Calamy, the ones that were involved in Thierry and Hana personally.

He stood up gracefully and knew that the fighters in the room had noticed the way he had moved. Cameron stood up quickly behind him but Harry didn't reach to take his hand and Cameron respected that Harry wanted to do this on his own.

"You must be Mr. Potter. Harry if I may?" Harry nodded as Thierry spoke. "Thank you. I am Thierry and this is my Soulmate Hannah."

Harry didn't react to the slight variation of her name. He'd heard many different versions of the same name but she was really Hana to him and always had been and probably was to Thierry too. "I hope the others have been kind to you. I'm sorry we weren't around when you arrived. I understand you've had a rough time in the last few weeks." Hannah smiled and moved forwards to shake his hand. Harry took it and held it for a moment without speaking. "I hope I can be of some help. I only awoke myself a few months ago so I'm new to this."

"Perhaps then I can be of help to you." Harry offered. "I've lived many lives whilst fully awakened."

"We can help each other then and the other Old Souls will want to meet you." Hannah smiled before looking at Thierry with the same smile. Harry looked at Thierry again and Thierry's eyes met his own.

"I know better than to skim your thoughts without your permission but perhaps if you allow me to look I can compare the state of your thoughts to Hannah's." Thierry offered. "Aradia informed me that you were having some trouble adjusting."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Cameron spoke up. "I'm sorry, Lord Thierry, but anyone other than me who has tried has come out with a major headache."

"Ah, Prince Cameron." Thierry turned to him. "I apologise for overlooking you. My concern is only with Harry's state of mind. I can understand the turmoil created by awakening having witnessed it's chaos with Hannah many a time. I wish only to be of help."

"Let him, Cameron." Harry spoke quietly. "But please, Thierry, stay cautious and do not search."

"Very well." Thierry smiled at him reassuringly and Harry barely felt the intrusion into the edges of his mind but his mind was chaotic and his memories clashed against Thierry's mind like a building battered by a hurricane. Harry winced as he himself witnessed the worst memory in his mind. The feeling and emotions when he was spelled by Witches to resist death before being burned alive. As a small boy named Lucus.

Thierry struggled to ignore it and look at the general shape of Harry's mind but eventually he withdrew. He had gone pale and his teeth had lengthened and he'd become more of the predator he was at the experience. "Harry?" Cameron hissed out loud and inside his mind.

Harry tilted his head and shut his eyes to clear his mind before looking at his Soulmate. "Lucus." Was all he said and Cameron bit his lip and tucked an arm around Harry's waist.

"I admit the snippet I saw is not something I have thought to witness." Thierry admitted.

"Thierry, Hannah." Harry only just caught himself as he spoke her name. "May I speak to the two of you alone for a few minutes?"

Thierry nodded to him and glanced at Quinn who nodded. "Harry?" Cameron asked. "Do you want me to stay?"

Harry turned to him and worried his own lips before touching Cameron so he could speak to him mentally. _"I think I need to do this alone."_ Harry told him and Cameron nodded and followed the others out of the room, probably fully intending to make sure everyone was far enough away to not be able to overhear.

"Is there something you did not wish the others to hear?" Thierry asked.

"You can trust us, Harry." Hannah told him.

Harry chuckled and walked over to the Grand Piano and sat down on the stool and leaned his elbows on his knees. "I've known them only a few minutes and I've known Cameron for a few weeks. I've known my best friends for a year. I have no desire to know the relatives that abused me as a child nor the Wizards that used me as a tool and just captured and tortured me enough that my mind completely opened out to me."

"Aradia mentioned Wizards." Thierry frowned.

"I truly hope to never have to deal with them again." Harry told him as the two sat together on a sofa facing Harry.

Harry looked at Thierry. "How far back do you remember?"

"A long way. To before I was changed into a Vampire." Thierry told him.

"By Maya?" Harry asked and Hannah flinched.

"By Maya, yes." Thierry nodded confused as to where Harry was going with this.

"And you, Hannah?" Harry asked.

"My first life was in a tribe quite close to where Thierry's tribe was. I was a little younger than Thierry. That was about twenty thousand years ago. Before Vampires took over the world from the Witches." Hannah told him. "What about you?"

Harry looked at her and hung his head before looking up with saddened eyes. "I know you two." He whispered. "You and I, Hannah, share a connection because for thousands of years we have been at the receiving end of Maya's hatred."

"What did you do to Maya?" Thierry asked.

"I grew up with her." Harry told Thierry slipping from English to the language their tribe had used to speak. It took Thierry a moment to recall the speech but when he did his eyes widened and he stood up so fast that Hannah almost fell away from him. Harry followed him up slower and Thierry was less than a foot from him faster than Harry could see him. Their eyes met but Harry knew that Ryn's eyes had been completely different to his own now.

"What's going on?" Hannah demanded as she stood up. "What did he say, Thierry?"

"He said he grew up with Maya." Thierry told her not yet able to discern whether that meant that Harry was good or evil.

"You mean she raised you in one of your lives?" Hannah told him.

"No, Hana." Harry pronounced Hannah's name the original way and both of them blanched slightly. "Maya has killed me more times than I can yet claim and normally in the worst ways she could under the circumstances. I witnessed your first death and several afterwards and you have witnessed at least one of my deaths before at the hands of what you thought was Thierry but was actually Maya."

"How do you know all of that?" Hannah asked him levelly.

"Because he's Ryn." Thierry almost seemed to realise it as he spoke.

"Ryn?" Hannah frowned. "The man from your tribe that brought you back after you killed me and then hid you."

"Maya wasn't impressed that I hid him though." Harry said as he turned away and walked to the window looking out at the sprawling grounds of the mansion.

"I never found out what happened." Thierry whispered though he hadn't moved and was now looking away from Harry who turned to look at Hannah.

"When I was Ryn my parents were killed in a wolf attack on our tribe. This was when you were Hana." Harry started. "I was raised by the leader of the tribe, Hecate, alongside her two daughters, Hellwise and Maya. I was slightly younger than them both, three and four years respectively but Thierry and I were the same age and we learned to hunt together."

"And then Maya did it." Thierry was still facing away from them and Hannah looked like she desperately wanted to go to him but she didn't move just yet.

"Maya turned herself into a Vampire and bit Thierry first. He didn't give into her and ran away and Maya started turning more of our tribe until Hecate called a stop to it and a fight began. Hellwise saved my life in that battle but that night she duelled Maya, won, but died of her wounds." Harry was speaking quieter now but knew that both could hear him. "I went after Thierry and watched what happened to the warriors in your tribe and that was when I first met you. I found Thierry knelt in the middle of a field, a rather broken being. I took him back to the tribe but he couldn't stand what he'd done so Hecate cast a spell on him so that he would sleep until you were reincarnated."

"What happened then?" Hannah asked knowing that while it was the end of what Thierry had told her Harry would have more to say.

"I hid him where only I could have found him." Harry told her. "Maya came looking for him about two months later but I wouldn't tell her where he was hidden. She didn't bother to actually drink my blood, just tore my throat out. Barely twenty feet from our tribe. She never feared anything, even when alive and I was merely a human."

"You died to keep me hidden?" Thierry finally turned to look at him.

"I'd lost Hellwise, half the tribe and you, Thierry." Harry shrugged. "I knew what she'd do if she got to you while you slept and I couldn't allow that."

"You said you'd seen me since then." Hannah prompted.

"I'm still sorting out my lives, they're not coming one at a time anymore and it's hard to get a handle on them." Harry sighed. "But I know of two times I saw you but I think I have seen you more times than that. Once I was called Sete and I was in Ancient Egypt. I was awakened and I tracked Maya to a temple but arrived too late. But it wasn't Maya I saw it was..."

"Me." Thierry sighed as Harry paused. "It was Maya."

"_I_ know but Sete didn't." Harry sighed. "What I thought was you had just finished killing Hannah before he saw me and within moments I was dead. There was nothing I could do. The second time was during the time when England occupied most of what is now Northern France. I was a Vampire Hunter called Calamy but I'd been searching for you for years, Hannah."

Thierry shut his eyes tightly, forcing himself to remain calm. It was Hana that spoke though. "I... I think I can remember that one. I was about to marry."

"A Lord who's parents I'd killed because he'd executed my family and tried to kill me." Harry nodded to her. "I arrived again just a little too late to warn you but you were still alive. I fought 'Thierry' again but got thrown back into the wall. I was going to die from that point but I learnt the truth then because I drove my sword into her and she couldn't hide who she truly was from me and Maya and I have had many run ins over the years that weren't brought about by either of you."

"I remember watching you die." Hannah blinked tears from her eyes. "You tried to save me."

"I don't think it was ever supposed to be me that saved you." Harry sighed before moving over to Thierry's side and touching his arm. "I remember that time I saw you crouched over me when I came to for a short while. I shoved the memories that I could at you. And then you kissed me on the forehead."

"You can remember all of that?" Thierry turned to him.

"I relived that life on the plane over here, this morning. It feels to me like it just happened." Harry sighed and rubbed at his face. "I'm sorry I could never stop it."

Before he could react Thierry had moved, hugging Harry tightly. "You should never have had the burden of feeling that you had to try." Thierry told him and Harry hugged him back. "I tried to search for you for hundreds of years but you never had the distinctive signs that Hannah did."

"I know." Harry sighed. "Cameron said...."

"What?" Thierry asked as he let go of Harry.

"He said that Maya was dead." Harry told him. "Is it true?"

"It's true." Thierry nodded. "She got tired of not being able to get me so she tried to turn Hannah so that she wouldn't be an Old Soul any longer."

Harry turned to Hannah and took her hand. "Hana." He smiled at the name. "I'm happy to see that the two of you are finally able to be together. I only regret that it wasn't possible until now."

Harry sat down on the piano stool again and touched the keys but didn't put any weight on them. He knew somewhere inside him that he could play the piano but wasn't sorted out enough to know for sure. He turned to look at Thierry who was standing behind Hannah with his arms around her.

"Did Tamarack tell you about the prophecy that we uncovered?" Thierry asked.

"Thierry, you heard the original telling of that prophecy just like I did." Harry smiled at him. "But if you're going to ask if I'm going to be the one that helps you through these troubled times then yes it's supposed to be me."

"And what Aradia saw?" Thierry asked.

"I've seen too much in this life. I was a Wizard. I was part of a Prophecy from a Seer twenty years ago and a Dark Lord came after me when I was fifteen months old and murdered my parents. I was placed with my aunt and her husband who between them starved and beat me. Then I went to school with Wizards and they tried to turn me into their weapon. I fought a war that cost me the only two people that actually cared about me and they died when I should have been able to protect them but I didn't know who I really was." Harry looked down at the ground. "The Wizards tried to force me to fight for them so I left that world and tried to be normal only to meet Cameron and for all of this to awaken in me."

"Are you going to draw a line at one war in a lifetime?" Thierry asked him.

Harry actually started laughing. "Thierry. In the last few weeks I've witnessed millions of deaths and hundreds of wars and lost so many loved ones I can't begin to imagine how many it was. I'm drained and Cameron is the only reason I can even think clearly."

"Will you think about it?" Thierry asked.

Harry stood up and Thierry let go of Hannah to stand in front of him. Harry raised a hand and cupped the side of his neck and dropped his head for a moment. "You know I go back further than Hana and yourself. I'm wounded, Thierry, but I owe it to you to try. I'll help you but whether I can fight another war is another matter. I'll try though."

Thierry sighed and nodded gratefully. "Harry? Ryn?" He started before shaking his head and trying to work it out.

Harry laughed. "When I'm with you I'm more Ryn than anyone else and this body as such belongs to Ryn just as much as it belongs to any of the others."

"Ryn." Thierry nodded. "You're first life, you had..." He glanced at Hannah and Harry followed his eyes to see her confused look.

"I didn't when I was Ryn. Are you asking if I do now?" Harry asked.

"I am." Thierry nodded.

"Thierry, my race died off thirty thousand years ago. Cal'va and myself were the last to die." Harry told him.

"It's just the prophecy suggested that the oldest race would return to help us." Thierry sighed. "They don't have a clue what that means, they think it's Shapeshifters but I know..."

"What are you two talking about?" Hannah demanded and both turned to look at her making her go red.

"The Prophecy speaks of the oldest of beings returning." Thierry told her.

"They think it does." Hannah pointed out. "Nobody really knows the true wording."

"Sorry, Hannah, but both Ryn and I witnessed Hecate cast that prophecy and we know what it really means." Thierry told her. "Ryn, well Harry, is the person it talks about but I thought it meant you'd..."

Harry sighed and looked Thierry deep into the eyes. "This _cannot_ leave this room. My best friend's know and Tamarack and Cameron know but that is it. Not even your Circle Daybreak can be told. I won't become a tool for your war, Thierry."

"You mean...?" Thierry's eyes widened and Harry finally gave into his desire to open his wings and pulled off his jacket and let his wings spread open in the large gallery yet still they had to stay folded because they were across the room rather than along it. The deep navy blue span, almost black in appearance, blocked out the light and cast a shadow down the gallery. Harry flapped them a couple of times feeling the movement of the air around the strained muscles and watching as the air pushed at the two others in the room.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	6. A Prince's respect

Temporal Illusion

Chapter 6; A Prince's respect

**Thierry's mansion**

Harry flexed his wings as much as he could across the large room and stared at his ancient friend who was staring at him in awe. The eldest of the Vampires looking at him in reverence. Hannah was clearly almost in shock. "You look like an angel." She gasped. "Never have I seen something like this before."

"My kind were ten thousand years extinct before your first life." Harry said gently before folding his wings but he left them visible because they hurt so much. "I'm afraid they are strained. They are not designed to carry the weight of anyone but myself but in escaping from the Wizards I was forced to catch myself and Tamarack."

"Ryn..." Thierry shut his eyes as if seeing Harry's wings was painful to him. Harry knew though that it was merely his memories of the last twenty thousand years that pained him and Harry just opened them all up again.

Harry smiled at him as he opened his eyes again and held up his hand. Thierry almost automatically raised his own and they put their palms together, fingers aligned just as their tribe had done, a sign of trust and most of all a dependency on the tribe. He turned to Hannah. "I am well aware that it was in the final battle between the shapeshifters and witches when the myths of angels came to be. My battle partner and I joined the fight, the last of our kind, and with our aid the witches were able to subdue the Amaru but it was not without cost but to the humans and witches we were two angels from heaven that came to save them. I have heard of angels all my life, it was a source of strength for me. My proof that my kind were not completely forgotten."

"This is amazing." She told him. "May I?" She asked as she reached out a hand. Harry nodded and opened his right wing and pulled it around in front of him, having to put it at a strange angle so it didn't block them from view. The dark blue feathers shimmered in the lights from the windows and they flickered light across her face as she ran her fingers down the feathers. She pulled back a moment later and smiled at him. "It's an honour to meet you, Harry. Especially when I now know the sacrifice you have made to try to save me from Maya. I cannot thank you enough for that."

"Thierry..." Harry sighed and pulled his wings back against his back and with a ripple they blurred and vanished into his back, making him look identical to a normal human. "This war you are planning to fight. What is it?"

"We do not know." Thierry shook his head. "Only that the ten thousand year old cycle is upon us again with the millennium."

"Fire, Ice and Water." Harry nodded. "I have not heard about that since..." He trailed off.

"Since when?" Hannah asked when he just frowned.

"I am not sure." He shook his head. "I have not sorted out that life yet. I know of that concept though. That the world would be rewritten for each race. Amaru ruled, then the great fires signalled the war between us, the shapeshifters and the Witches and then the Witches ruled for ten thousand years. The ice age struck and Maya and her Vampires took over the world and then lastly the global floods signalled the change to human supremacy. Who is left, Thierry?"

"We are hoping that this time it can be a change so that all races may live together in harmony." Thierry told him.

Harry chuckled but let himself smile at Thierry. "You were ever the optimist, Thierry-brother."

"And you were the realist." Thierry nodded.

"And what I realise is that some events cannot be prevented, as much as you'd like them to." Harry spoke simply.

"Will you try?" Thierry asked. "With me, like old times."

"Old times?" Harry couldn't help but laugh. "By my recollection I only buried you a few months ago."

Thierry shook his head at Harry's humour before fixing him with a look. Harry sighed. "My life does not belong to just myself anymore, Thierry. I cannot give away my life without talking to him about it."

"Nobody is talking about that." Hannah spoke up with a gasp of shock.

"Hana, I have seen a lot over many years and the one thing that has never changed is that wars cost lives. More than you ever imagine possible beforehand. Some wars cost far too much and they are not worth fighting, even for the best of reasons." Harry sighed. "I have already fought a war like that and it cost me much of my sanity. I struggle now to even grip a small amount of hope." He stepped forwards and took Thierry's left hand in his own and Hannah's right in his own right hand. "This lifetime I have witnessed everything I know being taken from me in the most brutal manner imaginable and then lost enough lives to thousands more wars and deaths, my own included. I don't honestly know how much more I can give but I will try."

"Why?" Thierry asked as Harry made to pull back. He gripped Harry's hand tighter to stop him from retreating. "If you feel like you cannot stand another war than why help us at all?"

"Do not judge me, Thierry." Harry sighed.

"I do not judge you or blame you for the results of your past lives." Thierry shook his head. "But if you don't want to fight then I can ensure your safety."

"Until you fall." Harry sighed. "That is why."

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked.

"You are lucky, Hana." Harry sighed. "You may turn and be with Thierry for eternity or you can grow old and die and when you reawaken in your new life you can search him out."

"Cameron." Thierry breathed out the word in sadness. "I see."

"This life is all I have with him and there is an end to it with no future. I will live on in more lives but he shall not. This life is the last life I want to live because I cannot imagine existing without him." Harry sighed out. "I must fight to protect the world so that Cameron and I can make the most of the time together that we have."

Before Harry could react Thierry was hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry about all the time between then and now, Ryn." Thierry whispered to him though loud enough for Hannah to hear.

"How about we get something brought up for us to eat and drink and we can bring the others back in?" Hannah offered with a smile as Harry and Thierry separated. Harry nodded and while the two turned to the phone Harry sat down on the piano stool and opened the lid again and ran his fingers over the keys. His fingers found a series of notes and he shut his eyes and merely let his fingers do what they wanted and before he knew it he was playing out a soft melody that hadn't been heard in hundreds of years and before that in thousands. He knew the melody from his time as A'Zia, it was a funeral song that had survived from the earliest years of his people until the final days when the pyres had burned high with their dead. It seemed fitting after all of the people he had known that had died so recently in his mind.

He finished it and finally opened his eyes and heard a light pattering of applause and he turned in surprised to find the room full again. He'd been playing the long melody for almost ten minutes and Thierry and Hana's guests had re-entered the room. James and Poppy the Vampire Soulmates, Thea and Eric the witch and human Soulmates, Ash the vampire and this time also Aradia with Quinn, Rashel, Tamarack, Jez and Nicky and of course Cameron whose mind touched Harry's and soothed him. He at least didn't have to wonder why that melody was so saddening.

"That was beautiful." Aradia told him. Harry turned around on the piano stood and moved to the end of it and Cameron took the invitation and sat behind him and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist. Harry allowed himself a smile. Aradia could really appreciate the beauty in music.

"It sounds better on the instruments it is designed for." Harry told her.

"What instrument is that?" James asked.

"A Vishta." Harry said simply.

"A what?" Ash asked with raised eyebrows.

"I don't think one has existed in a long time." He said simply. "My tribe used them but they were lost along with my tribe."

"What was that melody?" Poppy asked.

"A funeral song." Harry told her simply. "To be played with the pyres of war. There were different songs for other types of death. They are a little more upbeat."

"Can you play us something else?" Hana asked.

"I do not know about on the piano." Harry said. "I do not have that life sorted yet. I do not know when I learned to play it." He looked around the room and took in the other back wall where he'd noticed nicely presented instruments. "Do you keep them working?" He asked Thierry.

"Of course." Thierry nodded.

Harry smiled and stood up and walked over to a violin and as he moved he began to feel more and more like John, a poverty stricken man taken in to play for the royal family. A master with a violin but even as he lifted the violin from its stand and tested the bow he knew that somewhere in his mind he could play the violoncello as well. From another lifetime that was moving to the fore of his mind with the idea of playing the violin. He ignored it and turned back to the room and raised the violin and started playing the slow beginning of Palladio, it was a rather modern piece but it wasn't a major stretch for John to be able to play it with the memory and it didn't lose anything without the accompanying instruments though as he played it the other life came further into the forefront since the piece relied so heavily on the cello part and as he continued to play his sight began to blur and though his hands and fingers moved with perfection his mind was lost elsewhere.

_He looked up from his sheet music and gave a cursory glance over the audience of the massive theatre in the United States' capital city before looking back for a glance at his sheet music even though it was only for the performance since he knew this music to the last note and he'd practiced it with his three brothers so much that he knew it all perfectly. There was no conductor, nothing but himself, his three brothers and two thousand of the richest and most important people in the United States, including the President, celebrating the turn of the new century. Palladio reverberated throughout the theatre instilling the normal awe that such powerful music created in the listening, making them part of something greater, pulling them out of their bodies and away from the world of pain and chaos and into something more brilliant that life itself. At least that's how Carter saw it and he knew that was what his older brothers saw too._

_He was walking towards their car parked behind the stadium amongst his older brothers when something shot from the shadows and before he, Jacob and Sammy could react, Peter, their eldest brother vanished from sight. They heard a sharp cry of pain and before Carter could ask Jacob and Sammy were grabbing him, pulling their fourteen year old brother between them, protecting him. He was their baby brother and always would be._

"_Who's there?" Sammy, his eighteen year old brother called into the darkness. A shape moved in the shadows and Carter clutched to Sammy's arm tightly even as his brother pulled him behind himself._

_Another shadow moved on their right and Jacob moved around them, blocking Carter again but even as Carter turned he felt Jacob being yanked away from him and he turned back only in enough time to feel hot blood spray his face. "Jake?" He gasped out. "Jake!" Sammy pulled him against his front, hiding him from the view of their brother lying in an ever growing pool of blood._

"_Someone help us!" Sammy yelled and, even as the words echoed through the alleyway, light burst behind Carter's eyes._

The bow screeched as Harry flinched and he came back to reality with a shudder of pain and took a step back. Cameron moved so fast he was catching Harry before Harry realised where he was. He turned and buried his head into Cameron's chest and merely hid as he restrained his need to cry for his two brothers.

"Harry?" Thea asked but didn't get a response so tried again. "Cameron? Is he alright?"

"I think playing the music brought another of his lives to the foreground." Cameron said.

"Maybe we should leave you?" Aradia offered and her voice was strained.

Harry pulled away and although his eyes were damp he wouldn't cry in front of so many people. He didn't need to cry but part of him wanted to cry for them but he knew that he already had. He and Sammy had survived that night because of Kinen's hunting instincts that had flashed into his life and let him kill the two werewolves that had attacked his brothers and himself that night for mere sport.

"It's fine." Harry told them.

"What happened?" Eric asked.

"His mind is splintered into two main sections." Aradia said calmly and Harry watched her as she spoke. Clearly she could see his mind quite clearly. "An inner core containing his current life and the memories and personalities of all of the lives he has recognised and accepted into himself. The second part is the outer core which is a chaotic mess of lives that he has not yet remembered. Occasionally a memory from one of these will brush the inner core and he'll remember a skill or a person. What just happened is one of the lives that was on the outer core was pulled into the centre by his playing and merged with his whole being."

Harry nodded to show she was about right. "Before there was a fog between what I knew and what was still hidden. It only released one life at a time and shielded me from the rest until I could accept more. That mist is now gone. Every thought I have pulls at one or more of the lives I do not yet know. It is... confusing."

"Perhaps you need some peace and quiet?" Aradia suggested. "I witnessed what you just lived through. I did not try to but sometimes it is that way with me. I am sorry for the lives of your friends."

"You just witnessed the event, you don't see anything more?" Harry asked noticing her lack of knowledge.

"I only witness what can be witnessed through the eyes." She told him with an ironic smile.

"They were my brothers." He told her. "Jake and Peter. Sammy and I survived."

Ash raised his hand. "I'm still confused." Thea promptly hit him on the arm.

Harry sighed and sat down on the piano stool again and Cameron sat behind him. "Carter was my name and it was 1900 and I was fourteen. My three older brothers, Peter, Jake, Sammy and I were playing in Washington DC for the turn of the century celebrations for the President and about two thousand other people. A string quartet. Our mother taught us when we were younger until our father..." Harry swallowed. "Until he murdered her because he caught her spending too much time with another man who was actually her doctor because she had cancer and was going to die. I was eight at the time. After the performance we were walking to our car behind the theatre when we were attacked. Peter was killed before we saw anything and Jake was killed in front of Sammy and I."

"Killed by what?" James asked.

"Werewolves." Aradia spoke up sadly. "For sport by what I witnessed."

"We'd never been involved in the Night World and until that attack I wasn't awakened. They had no reason to go after us. They just wanted some fun." Harry hung his head and felt Cameron nuzzle the back of his neck, placing a kiss on his spine that sent reassuring tingles down his back. "I think we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kinen and Ryn came to my rescue though and I killed one and ran off the other but that was too late for Peter and Jake. I'm not sure what happened to Sammy but I died at the age of nineteen of something they couldn't diagnose. I remember that Sammy and I played a last performance for the President and the King of England in remembrance of our brothers and because we knew I was dying."

"Now you know how confusing this is for him." Cameron spoke up even as he grabbed Harry's hands in his own and pulled them across his front, holding him in place because he could feel the small shivers running through him. "He only zoned out for a few seconds."

"And lived a lifetime." Hannah sighed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two days later**

Harry was sitting out on one of the large balconies on the back of the house with Cameron and Jez on either side, bare chested, enjoying the Nevada desert sun. Harry didn't often get time to just relax. Harry had been sleeping but since yet another of his lives had come to the foreground he couldn't get back to sleep. He'd witnessed the lives of three more people since arriving at Thierry's mansion. He'd been a boy called Archer by his mother because she wanted him away from the fighting and he'd dutifully become an archer of the English army during the invasions of Wales. He'd been a boy called Icarus after the recent Greek fable and had become a scholar of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia and finally his life as a pianist came to the foreground, a man named Paul who had played for the British Colonies in the Americas.

He also saw a couple of memories which concerned him but that apart from showing Cameron he kept to himself because of something he saw in one. Of caves, brotherhoods and something through the ages but now gone. He knew he'd been involved in something big but he couldn't yet say what it was only that it had involved A'zia greatly.

"I thought I'd find you boy's out here loafing in the sun again." Tamarack sighed as she walked out and saw the three of them lounging. Harry grumbled something unpleasant in old Japanese and turned towards Cameron, putting his head on his chest and an arm around him. They'd yet to move their relationship beyond kissing and holding each other because Harry was generally in turmoil all the time and because Cameron, dealing with the chaotic nature of Harry's bond as they slept was having trouble getting much rest.

"I don't think Imazato would approve of what you just said, Harry." Cameron told him.

"You speak... uh... what the hell was that?" Tamarack trailed off.

"Ancient Japanese." Cameron told her. "And I don't speak it but Harry's thoughts are perfectly clear. And not nice." He said swatting Harry on the back of the head lightly.

"What did he say?" She asked.

"Something about an aversion to sunlight." Cameron smiled clearly unwilling to go into the rest of it but Tamarack just stared at him until he caved. "He merely commented on the ugliness of the creature formed from the mating of a rat and a toad. How sunlight has anything to do with that I don't know."

Tamarack pulled a face before clocking Harry on the back of the head though it was only a tap with her Vampiric strength. "Just because you can curse us in a dozen different languages doesn't mean we have to put up with it."

"It's eleven if you don't count dialect changes." Harry corrected and sat up.

"Whatever." She grumbled before leaning down and pecking Jez on the lips who just laughed afterwards and smiled at Harry happily. "I only came because Thierry's guest has arrived and he and Aradia are waiting to introduce you to her."

"As what?" He asked. "It's not like I'm special to anyone else."

"I believe they wish to tell her of your involvement in the vision that Aradia saw." Tamarack said knowing that Harry had talked to Aradia about that since she'd recognised him from it even if she hadn't made a major deal out of it.

Harry grumbled and stood up. He owed it to Thierry to do what the Vampire wanted after all. He and Cameron made their way back into their room and changed into fresh clothing before Harry turned to Cameron. "If this woman is important do you really want to announce your involvement with a human to her?"

"Involvement?" Cameron asked with raised eyebrows before he closed the gaps. "I'm more than involved with you, Harry. I'm so deeply ingrained into every part of you that I could never bare being separated from you. I'll stand before my own father and tell him that."

"Oh, that'll go down well." Harry rolled his eyes. " The King of the Shapeshifters kills his own son for falling for a tour guide at the Zoo."

Cameron choked and punched him on the arm. Harry just smiled at him. "You're sure?"

"I don't care what the Night World thinks." Cameron told him. "I'd send every newspaper in the world the announcement if it means being with you. Damn the consequences."

Harry kissed him soundly putting his hands on his stomach and gripping his nice shirt in his hands. Cameron put his hands on Harry's side and almost on instinct alone Harry's wings opened out behind him and cocooned them both in darkness lightly caressing Cameron's back with soft feathers. It was a good thing that their door was locked from the inside. Over the last few days Harry had taken to sleeping half on his front and half on Cameron with his wings out. To start with it had just been after his nightmares that they'd opened and then he'd started falling back to sleep with them open to comfort him. Now it seemed Cameron was merely using them as a blanket as well.

Harry opened his wings again and stepped back but didn't retract them until Cameron had run his hands down the edges of the massive wing span. After hiding them from anyone else they headed out into the corridor to find one of Thierry's Vampires awaiting them and with twin Sirs he greeted them both, Cameron as the Prince of Shapeshifters as he was and Harry because of his standing in the world as an Old Soul. The Vampire led them down to the same gallery as they'd first been led to and he left as soon as they'd seen the four people waiting in the room. Thierry, of course, and Hana as well as Aradia and a woman who looked like she was probably at least ninety years old. Cameron's mind reached out and touched Harry's as his fingers ghosted over Harry's arm and a mental connection was opened around their Soulmate bond.

"_That's the Crone of all the Witches. Everyone calls her Grandma Harmen. The only people in the Night World that don't respect her are the pompous Vampires. My parents always make a point of remaining on her good side."_ Cameron told him. _"I've never met her though, not up close."_

Harry and Cameron walked the rest of the distance and Harry couldn't help but meet the Crone's stare with one of his own. "Harry, Cameron." Thierry spoke up happily. "May I introduce to you the Crone of all Witches, Grandma Harmen." He said before turning to the side to face her. "I'm sure you've heard of Cameron Drache, Prince of the Shapeshifters. This is his human Soulmate, Harry Potter."

"The Old Soul that Aradia told me about." The elderly Witch nodded her head seriously. "You've gotten yourself into trouble I see. And what, only a month or so after getting your memories."

Harry watched her for a moment, assessing her. "Well normally by this point I'm already dead so maybe this time I'm actually doing well."

"Harry..." Thierry warned and Harry noticed that he hadn't called him Ryn. Perhaps the Crone would know the name and he didn't want to throw it in so soon.

"If you tell me to respect my elders I'm merely going to laugh at you, Thierry." Harry said simply.

Thierry looked shocked even as Cameron tried not to laugh but it was the Crone that broke the silence with an amused snort of laughter. "It's nice to have someone with some guts around here, willing to put Thierry in his place. Not to mention old hags like me."

Harry nodded to her. "I was putting Thierry in his place long before today."

"Is that so?" She asked with a devilish grin.

"You remind me of someone." Harry smiled gently and turned to Thierry. "Do you see it? Looks and attitude."

"I'm not sure who you mean." Thierry frowned but Harry wasn't surprised. Harry remembered her like he'd seen her merely a month ago whereas Thierry hadn't seen her in millennia.

"Hecate." Harry smiled. "She had the same 'take no crap' attitude that you do, my Lady." Harry said showing the first bit of proper respect. "She'd like you."

"So you have lived in the same tribe as Hecate, Thierry, Hellewise and... Maya?" She asked.

"I did." Harry nodded. "Thierry was as much trouble then as he is now."

"Would we please stop ganging up on me?" Thierry asked clearly unused to being shown up like this. Cameron was sniggering quietly but Harry knew he was merely happy to see Harry having fun.

"You're name then?" She asked with a frown.

"This is Ryn." Thierry said with all seriousness. "I told you about him."

"And so did the legends." She nodded. "The human that defied Maya and hid Thierry from her even when it cost him his life. Hecate wrote of you in what little literature has survived from that day."

"Was it good?" Harry asked childishly getting a slap on the arm from a clearly amused Cameron.

"I'm sorry, Prince Cameron." The Crone smiled. "I seem to have overlooked you completely. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I have met your older brother and younger sisters before but you have always seemed to allude me. Does your father know of this?"

"No. He believes me to still be in England." Cameron shook his head.

"I see. What about your brother?" She pressed.

"He will learn of Harry as soon as Harry has recovered." Cameron told her. "I have faith in my brother's reaction."

"And you had faith in Lord Thierry's judgement that you brought your human Soulmate down before the Crone of the Witches who is sworn just as Thierry is to order both of your deaths?" She asked plaintively.

"_Harry."_ He felt a voice not his own or Cameron's speaking to him, a light ghosting over his mind but even with just that it found itself faced with a single entity made up of all of them. _"I wish to tell both Aradia and the Crone of your true involvement. Only they can truly help you."_

"_Thierry."_ Harry sent in return and knew that Cameron, though still trying to come up with a response to the Crone's statement heard him and had heard Thierry since he had paused. _"Alright, brother."_

Harry didn't move but the world froze around him and he left go of Cameron's hand and moved across the room and over to the window that looked out across a frozen world and he merely stood there for a time. What would he honestly do if Thierry asked him to join this war of theirs? Would he fight for them, use Liam, Imazato, Ryn, A'zia and dozens more to aid him in fighting or would he merely protect those he loved and leave the war to destroy everything. The answer was obvious really, the future couldn't be changed, it had already been decided just like the extinction of his race had been decided. Clearly whatever power controlled all of this had brought him back time and time again for a reason, clearly it had recreated him in the image of his original race for a reason and it wouldn't be merely to watch the world die. But he wouldn't be a warrior for them. He'd be a protector. If he could protect somebody and they needed it then he'd do what he could but he wouldn't lose his only life with Cameron for a war for a world that had destroyed his life so many times over.

He unfroze the world and turned to face the five in the middle of the room as they flinched at Harry's disappearance. "That is all on the assumption that I am without the ability to look after myself." Harry said quietly making the two Witches, Shapeshifter, Vampire and Old Soul turn to look at him. "I have seen much in my existence, Crone of the Witches, I have fought against much of the world. It has done everything to me that it can think of, it has made me a slave to Vampires, a hunter of them in turn. It has made me a scared boy chasing Shapeshifter clans across the world to avenge my tribe. It has had me cry over countless loved ones. The only pain it can cause me now is to take Cameron away from me and one day it will do that as well but I'll be damned if I let it take him before we have lived. You want me to help you and I shall but not for the Night World that has burned me alive, drained my blood. Not for any of that but for Cameron and the people I care about."

"And if helping us ensures the continued safety of your loved ones?" She asked.

"Then that will be a coincidence." Harry told her simply.

"And how is it that you can move like that?" She asked. "You are human, an Old Soul."

"The oldest of beings will rise from the world long covered by ash." Harry said but his words were not in English but in the tongue that Hecate had first cast that prophecy. She frowned in confusion and Thierry came to her rescue and translated it. "The exact original that Thierry and I heard from Hecate."

"It is you?" Aradia asked.

"Do your visions make sense now?" Harry asked. "I have always been human, being reborn over and over again through thirty thousand years but the first time I was different. My Soul is not the exact same as a humans."

"Thirty thousand years?" The Crone asked in surprise.

"From the days where the Amaru ruled the Shapeshifters and humans." Harry nodded.

"Amaru?" She frowned. "I have heard that word before but where?"

"It means Dragon." Harry said. "In the tongue of the Ancient Mayans thirty thousand years ago. My kind never needed a name for them except enemy. We were their enemy from the day they came into being for ten thousand years until the world burst into fire and both of our races battled to the end. I was there at the last battle between humans, Witches, the Shapeshifters and the greatest of the Amaru."

"The Angels." Aradia gasped. "You were one of them."

"He is." Thierry spoke softly and Harry slowly reached out with his wings, showing yet another two people his greatest secret. Finally he was able to open them to their full extent and they almost touched the ends of the long gallery. Over ten metres of dark blue wings blotting out the light from the window. He pulled them in again too quickly for his liking but they couldn't risk one of Thierry's servants opening the door and seeing him like this.

"Amazing." The Crone said and looked to Aradia, "My dear, if you could see."

Aradia smiled. "I see it clearly enough in your mind."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A month later**

Harry had taken to writing about each of his lives in a journal that Cameron had brought him. It was a nice leather bound one with really nice pages and had probably cost him a fortune and when one of the witches of Thierry's household had asked him what he was writing in it she'd disappeared off and returned with a black leather strap which she'd promptly put over it and with a drop of his blood and about ten minutes of spells and herbs she'd cast an enchantment on the strap that prevented anyone but himself from opening it. She'd told him that nobody but Harry had the right to read it.

Harry had been shocked by how quickly the Night People there had accepted him into their midst. He'd met dozens of members of Circle Daybreak since arriving there and now that he and Cameron had agreed to join them they really belonged there. Thierry spent what time he could with Harry when he wasn't doing official Night World duties or attending Night World Council things but Hana spent a lot of time with either Nicky, who she got on with famously, or Harry. Jez and Tamarack disappeared for a couple of weeks and Harry and Cameron were the only ones that knew where'd they'd gone. Jez had been worried that Tamarack, who took orders from Circle Daybreak, would get in trouble for disappearing but Tamarack had pointed out that because of what Harry was he was automatically really high up in their hierarchy. Harry had promptly told her and Jez to go spend some time together and they'd promptly gone.

Most of the time Harry spent solving the mess of his mind and to join with the seventeen lives he'd known about before the past month he'd discovered thirty-five more but he quickly discovered that the more the lives related to his situation the early they'd come to exist and while about half of the new lives were painful to him not many of them involved the Night World. There was now only one life left to him, lying out in the distant edge of his mind but although the odd short memory from it flashed across his dreams at night it stubbornly remained out of reach, even from Cameron when they joined their minds together. It was surrounded by a faint fog which thickened the more Harry reached for it and he and Cameron couldn't work out why it was there. Harry had decided that perhaps it was such a terrible life that Harry had rejected it and repressed it away and that thought scared him. In all of his lives he'd been proud of his actions, he'd been a good person and Cameron had told him that was because his Soul was good and always would be but he felt that maybe this life was repressed because of what he'd done in that lifetime. Maybe he'd been a bad person and now he couldn't accept it.

As the holidays came to a close Harry and Cameron prepared for a time when they'd no longer be able to spend every moment of the day with each other and Tamarack and Jez went through the same thing. Nicky just told Cameron and Tamarack that she was glad because she'd get her two boys back under her thumb. Nicky had been really good, even though Jez and Harry were distracted she never complained and took to befriending Hannah, who alone for most of the time while Thierry was working, was glad for the company.

Soon Harry, Jez and Nicky would be getting an apartment in a nice section of Los Vegas to stay in together while they were at Prima, paid for by the expedition team. They were only going to be a ten minute drive from the mansion, less for a Vampire running the distance and Thierry had already told Harry that he'd be there in a flash if there was ever any danger but there'd always be someone nearby in case and they'd all been giving a series of numbers for Thierry's security detail and for members of Circle Daybreak.

But returning to work wasn't what was on Harry and Cameron's mind as they drove into the city to a posh restaurant that was barely involved in the Night World but that Harry knew was surrounded by Thierry's security just to make sure that any Night Worlder that came near the place was watched. As the two walked inside they were greeted by the manager who had been expecting them, on Thierry's booking, and were taken to a private area to dine. Cameron had been fidgeting all week since they'd booked the meal and his nervousness went up several notches as they got closer to their table but it wasn't the table that made Cameron nervous but the young man sitting at it, Cameron's older brother, Galen."

As the manager pulled back the velvet curtain on the doorway and held it open for them the young man came into view. For a moment Harry thought that Cameron didn't want to go through but then Harry realised that the hushed conversations in the room had completely vanished. He glanced around taking in the odd moment where waiters paused mid serving, where people stopped talking and merely seemed to stare at each other. One young man sitting with his family was surreptitiously looking at another young man on the next table in admiration except he could only risk a fleeting glance so that his family didn't see but in Harry's moment the young man could really stare at him, even if he wouldn't know it.

Harry turned back to the reason he'd inadvertently frozen time and he studied Cameron's older brother. He had the same light brown hair but his was more tamed than Cameron's, his eyes were a light blue like Cameron's but with a small silver hint to them that belied his Dragon blood more than Cameron's did but Harry had Cameron's mind to remind him what was in his blood. Galen's eyes were frozen but they still showed his intelligent gaze and the warmth there at sighting his younger brother was clear.

Harry released his grip on the world and Cameron moved to block the door as he walked through and Harry thanked the manager who paused in the doorway after Harry had moved through. Galen clearly realised that Cameron had brought a guest, even if the three table settings hadn't already told him that and he rose from his seat and hugged Cameron in greeting. Harry noticed that Galen already had a glass of wine and he turned to the manager who nodded to show he'd take the order.

"The same as what he has please." Harry requested. Clearly the manager was in awe of Thierry enough to not mention that they were both under twenty-one and he left straight away. Cameron would need a bit of alcohol to calm his nerves.

"Galen, this is Harry. Harry this is my older brother Galen." Cameron said as he stepped out of the way. Galen offered his hand and Harry returned the gesture shaking his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry." Galen greeted and cast a very quick glance at Cameron and Harry knew why. Galen was wondering why Cameron had brought a human with him.

"Cameron has not been able to stop talking about you since we met." Harry told him.

"You're British?" Galen asked in surprise clearly recognising his accent even though it was barely discernable with so much dilution with his other lives. In an instant he could be talking French, Japanese, Ancient Babylonian or even the language from his first life which didn't even have a name but was close to Mayan.

"I'm about to begin studying at Prima." Harry told him. "I've been asked to join an expedition to South America. We'll be at Prima for about six months before we leave."

"Prima?" Galen asked politely. "Is that the veterinary college?"

Harry nodded but it was Cameron that spoke. "Could we sit down?" Even as he said it a waiter came in with his and Cameron's drinks and placed them on the table before leaving again without a word. Cameron sat in the seat next to his brothers while Harry sat on his other side and opposite where Galen sat. Galen looked to his brother again and Harry could see the confusion there and the brief flickering of worry.

"You don't have to worry about your brother's safety." Harry told Galen. "I'm well aware of the danger he is in by being around a human but we are well protected."

"Harry!" Cameron gasped out in shock.

"Well you were clearly going to spend the evening beating around the bush and you haven't seen your brother in months so I only thought it right that we deal with the pink elephant at the table, or human at the table so to speak, and get it out of the way." Harry shrugged and Galen looked at his brother in undisguised concern.

"Before you accuse me of anything, Galen, I didn't tell him a thing." Cameron raised his hands in surrender.

Galen turned back to Harry and stared at him with interest but the worry for his brother was still clear in his mind and with a flicker of his eyes Harry knew he was focusing internally and a moment later he felt an intrusion against his mind. "I won't fight that, Galen, because you'll see what you definitely don't want to witness but if I were you I wouldn't go poking around. There's more in there than you can imagine."

"Galen!" Cameron smacked his brother on the arm. "Get out of his head!"

"No." Harry said simply. "If he wants to make sure his little brother is safe and he thinks that searching my thoughts is the way to do it then let him. He'll soon try to find another way."

Galen frowned but looked back at Harry and his mind slipped inside again and although it was subtle it brushed one of the crystalline structures that held part of his life, the life most at the forefront right now which was Carter's. They were dealing with the acceptance of Cameron's brother so it was only natural that the part of him that thought of itself as Carter was at the forefront, making his decisions and trusting that the bond between brothers could never be destroyed. He witnessed with a flash Carter's own dedication to his older brothers as an emotion and then the loss at their deaths before a snap shot of watching Jake having his throat torn apart by the claws of a werewolf.

Galen jerked back so hard that his chair rocked back onto its back legs. Harry turned to look at Cameron but without contact he couldn't mentally tell him that it was Carter and he didn't want to say it out loud. Galen stared at Harry with a frown. "You're an Old Soul?" He asked, slightly unsure. Harry nodded and Galen shook himself. "I did not recognise the signs in your mind of such a thing. Was that how you learnt of our world?"

"In that life time, yes." Harry nodded.

"Why did you show me that one?" Galen asked.

"It was random, not intentional, but still I suppose those memories were at the fore because of the situation. I never had to worry about my older brothers' reactions to anything when I was Carter. Carter understood love for a brother. I, as Harry Potter, do not as I have no family that I love." Harry explained, half to Cameron and half to Galen. "It is my way of understanding what Cameron hopes from you. Complete understanding and acceptance."

"Understanding for what?" Galen turned to Cameron. "What have you done, Cam?"

"In fairness it wasn't by choice." Cameron defended. "It happened and we can't control it."

"Having relationships can be controlled." Galen told Cameron simply. "You just don't let it affect you. We've had this conversation before for the both of us. The Laws are there and they're not to be trifled with. Harry might not have known that but..."

"Harry did know that." Harry spoke up. "Or rather Alexis did when he and his best friend, a witch, were killed for befriending each other."

"And I don't care about the laws." Cameron told his brother sharply. "And you wouldn't either if you were in my situation."

"I've fancied humans before Cameron." Galen shook his head. "You forget about them and you move on. Even if you think it's worth the chance they might not and it's their necks on the line as well, not just yours."

"Literally." Harry muttered.

"Galen, this isn't just a fancy." Cameron told his brother. "This is greater than that."

"Because you let it be." Galen turned to Harry. "I'm sorry if I am offending you, Harry. I have no problem with humans but..."

"This is your younger brother." Harry nodded. "I understand but perhaps you should listen to your brother for a moment and then find out whether getting rid of me is really an option."

"It's not that I want to be rid of you, Harry." Galen shook his head. "But Cameron is my brother and I'll protect him from anything including relationships that would get him killed."

"Galen." Cameron sighed and grabbed his brother's chin with his left hand and turned him to look at him. "Harry's my Soulmate."

Galen stared at him without really realising what he'd said until his eyes widened in shock and then a little horror before resignation. Harry chuckled. "I'm sorry Galen, but we really didn't have a choice in the matter and we still don't."

Cameron let go of his brother's chin with a depressed sigh and Galen turned to Harry. He put his elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands, hiding his mouth behind his hands. "You're in a shit-load of trouble, Cam." Galen sighed. "What if dad finds out?"

"He won't find out." Cameron frowned. "Unless you plan on turning us in."

"Don't be stupid, Cameron." Galen half snapped. "I'd never do that and you knew that before you walked in here, so don't bring it up now just to throw me off guard."

Harry laughed and took a sip of his wine to hide his smile when Cameron turned to him with a mild glare. "He does have a point, Cameron." Harry pointed out as he put his glass down. "You knew when you first realised what I was to you that getting Galen to keep us a secret was never the issue. What you hoped for was that Galen didn't try to talk you into ditching me for your protection or trying to get rid of me himself."

"I never said that!" Cameron frowned at him.

"You didn't have to." Harry smiled at him. "We spend so much time sorting out my mind and so little time in yours but I still know you like I know myself. It's instinctual for me to know how you feel, what you desire and how you want people to see you."

They were interrupted when the waiter opened the door and they went about ordering some nice food on Galen's wallet and only when the waiter left did Cameron turn back to his brother. "Please I have to know. He's my Soulmate and I love him too much to ever not protect him. I might not be able to protect him from what has happened in his other lives but I can do what I can to protect him in this one. Will you help me?"

"That's what you want isn't it?" Galen asked him. "You know I'll keep it a secret and you know I'll accept you and him together. What you're not sure of is whether I'll protect him or not?"

"That's what I want to know." Cameron growled out almost impatiently.

"Shh, Cam." Harry chuckled. "He's trying to make a point."

"Thank you, Harry." Galen nodded.

"Oh and you know what the point is I suppose?" Cameron turned on Harry.

"I think I do yes." Harry nodded before looking at Galen. "May I?"

"Go ahead." Galen smiled.

"What he's saying is that you want him to help you protect me but that's not a reason to make him want to protect me." Harry told him. "What _he_ wants is for his little brother to be happy and to be safe and he now knows what your greatest fear is. The worst fear you've ever had in your life and the greatest challenge he'll ever have in order to protect you. Your worst fear is losing me just as mine is losing you. He can't stop you fearing that but he can do what he can to protect you from having to deal with that fear becoming reality. So he won't help you protect me like you want. He's protect you from what you fear and to do that he'll do what he can to protect me."

"You're very astute." Galen raised his eyebrows. "That's better worded than what I was going to say but very true."

"I might look nineteen but I'm not." Harry shrugged.

"So...?" Cameron grabbed his brother's arm and leaned into the table. "What?"

Galen chuckled and looked at his brother. "Anything you need, anytime, brother. Just like always."

Harry smiled at the two as Cameron's breathed out a relieved sigh and dropped his head and relaxed. Harry nudged him with his foot and Cameron looked to the right and up at him with a strained smile. Harry returned it seeing the happiness flickering in Cameron's eyes.

"So, Harry." Galen spoke up as their meals arrived promptly. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Harry waited for the waiters to leave. "You'll have to be a little more specific on that one, Galen."

Galen frowned and his brother came to the rescue. "There's a lot there to learn, Galen." Cameron told him with a laugh. "Harry tells me everything he can but there's a lot more that he hasn't had the time to tell me in almost a month and a half."

"How about just this lifetime then?" Galen tried.

Harry nodded. "I was born in Britain as a Wizard, you know about those?" Galen nodded with a slight narrowing of his eyes. "My parents were murdered by Voldemort when I was too young to remember them and I was raised, neglected and abused by my mother's sister, her husband and son until I was eleven and the Wizards 'collected' me to train up to be their tool. For six years I was their weapon until I finally killed Voldemort two years ago and lost the only other two people I'd loved in this lifetime up till then. After that they tried to turn me into a long term weapon for them, to fight their battles but I renounced their form of bastardised magic and fled into the normal world. Passed my A-levels in half a year and enrolled at the Royal Veterinary College as a BVetMed student. Got a summer job the next year working with the vets at Marwell Zoo in Hampshire and then Cameron showed up one day and that night everything started to unravel in my mind. All my old lives. Then he showed up with your parents and sisters. After that I knew what he was and luckily he stayed in England and we got a chance to know each other."

"Then the Wizards captured him because they wanted their weapon back and Tamarack had to rescue him from enough torture that it almost drove him insane." Cameron growled. "So we came out here early to get away from any more attempts and because his boss offered him a place on the Prima expedition."

Cameron really sounded pissed as he spoke and his brother studied him for a moment before turning back to Harry. "I'm sorry to say I wasn't quite expecting a life story that horrible. How can you manage to say it so easily?"

"You mean because it's really irritated Cameron just to hear it?" Harry asked. "I have worse lives in my mind."

"Like what?" Galen asked.

"Galen!" Cameron argued. "You can't ask him something like that!"

"It's alright, Cameron." Harry reached out and gently touched his arm and instantly Cameron's mind surged to his and Harry pushed across every reassuring thought he had. "I have a few rather bad ones. Some as slaves in the Night World, others when my death has been nothing less than horrifying but I also have lives that give me the skills I need so that I can stay safe in this life so that Cameron and I can survive and make a life together and so that we can be happy."

"You can't say that Lucus' death gives you anything?" Cameron frowned and Harry new that out of all of his deaths Cameron was effected the most by that one, possibly because it was unique and was the one that Harry most had nightmares about and because Cameron had been there to witness his reaction afterwards.

"Lucus' death was bad, Cameron." Harry sighed. "But Lucus' life was special."

"What happened to you?" Galen asked before correcting himself. "Lucus I mean?"

"Right now, because we're discussing Lucus I am more Lucus than I am any other person." Harry told him. "Lucus was a child in the sixteen hundreds and his parents were Witch Hunters and they used him as bait to lure out evil Witches. Except on one occasion they only managed to kill one witch and not both of them. That night the surviving Witch came back and kidnapped me. Tied me up and cast a spell on me, to keep me lucid and to prolong my life so that when they lit the fire under me I survived longer and the pain wasn't dulled for my drawn out death."

Galen shuddered. "Oh god."

"Cameron finds that death worse than the others because he was with me when I relived the life and it is strange to wake up after dying that way." Harry sighed. "I did not react well afterwards."

"I've never seen anyone in such a state, Galen." Cameron told him. "I can't describe what I felt but right then I knew I had to do everything to help Harry. No matter the cost. No matter the effort."

"Cameron cannot do much to protect me from my old lives and in the past I have accepted them all without dire consequence but he has been vital in letting me enjoy life again after everything I witnessed recently on top of the life I have already lived this time around." Harry told him.

"I respect you for your fortitude, Harry." Galen told him. "And no matter what pain it may cause my brother I can see that his love for you and the happiness you give him will outweigh any pain that loving you may cause him."

Cameron beamed at the acceptance and Harry changed the course of the conversation. "So, Galen, Cameron says that you are having as much trouble deciding on what animal to choose as he is? I'm training to be a vet and I'm good with animals. Why don't you tell me about yourself and maybe I can give you some advice as to what animal I think may suit you?"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	7. A Hunter's Love

Temporal Illusion

Chapter 7; A Hunter's Love

**Las Vegas – Thierry's Mansion**

"It'll be a shame to see you leave, Ryn." Thierry told him gently as Harry finished playing along to Thierry on the piano. Harry glanced around and smiled at Hannah, Jez, Nicky, Tamarack, Quinn, Rashel and of course Cameron though only Hannah and Cameron were actually sitting next to the piano. Harry leaned the Cello on its stand and leaned his elbows on his knees.

"You and I both know that with things happening as they are I'm going to be around quite often." Harry pointed out. "You should be happy. Liam is begging for a fight. He wants to find out how well the Night World defends against me with magic."

"Liam is your name when you awoke in London during World War Two?" Hannah asked.

"He's my most recent life, not including this one." Harry smiled and nodded.

"Rashel and Quinn have offered to act as your personal bodyguards." Thierry looked up at the two who quickly moved over.

"As long as they realise that it may come to pass that they have to just get themselves out of trouble." Harry narrowed his eyes at Thierry who nodded, not wanting to go into that any more when the two didn't know the truth about Harry.

"If you need to come to the Mansion for any reason then you call them first and they'll escort you." Thierry narrowed his eyes at Harry.

"Thierry..." Harry laughed. "Running off without me to help you was your problem not mine. Hecate scalded you how many times when we were kids?"

"Well hopefully we've both matured since then." Thierry laughed.

"Seriously, Harry." Rashel spoke up. "Day or night, if you need to go anywhere you call us."

"What about Tamarack?" Harry looked to Cameron. They'd already talked about this with Tamarack and Jez but he didn't know what the other two had decided.

"We'll be visiting as often as we can." Cameron reassured him. "But a Vampire and a Prince of the Shapeshifters hanging around your flat will look too suspicious. We'll sneak in and out on occasion and obviously if you need us you only have to call. Other than that Tamarack and Jez agreed that she should come with me."

"To look after you." Harry nodded. Cameron snorted but didn't get offended.

"Yes, Harry. To look after me." Cameron rolled his eyes and dodged the swat to his head a second later from Harry wielding his Cello's bow.

Just as Harry was about to say more one of Thierry's guards quickly entered and moved towards Thierry and whispered rapidly in his ear. Thierry stood up when the man left. "Aradia and Grandma Harmen are just coming up the drive." Thierry told them. "I don't think we should have a large gathering. Ryn?"

"I'm coming." Harry stood up.

"Which means me too." Cameron announced. Harry and Thierry both smiled at him.

"If you two are going to be following me around for the foreseeable future then you might as well come too." Harry sighed and let Cameron pull him to his feet and kept a hold of his hand.

Hannah accepted Thierry's arm with a small giggle and a flash of a smile at Harry who reminded himself that she was much more the teenager in comparison to Harry, Rashel or Cameron who were all essentially mortal. The six left the room after briefly bidding the others goodbye and headed down to the ground floor and to a small sitting room with no windows that Harry had quickly realised Thierry did most of his dealings.

Aradia and Grandma Harmen were escorted in a few minutes later and looked around their audience. "Ah good!" Grandma Harmen smiled. "I had hoped you would have the foresight to bring down dear Hannah and Harry."

"Note how she says that as if we're not two of the three eldest in the room." Harry commented as he smiled at Hannah and then turned to Crone and Maiden of the Witches.

"I'm afraid, Thierry, that the proverbial has hit the fan." Grandma Harmen sighed and eased herself down onto one of the sofas. Harry took Aradia by the hand and led her to sit beside himself with Cameron on his own other side. Thierry and Hannah sat with the elderly woman whilst Quinn and Rashel stood behind Harry's sofa. "Are you happy for everyone in here to be involved?"

"Quinn and Rashel are to take on the task of protecting Harry." Thierry forced himself to use his current name though it sounded strange to Harry to hear Thierry use it. He was trying to keep himself detached. "They should be involved."

"I had a vision during a Circle Twilight meeting. I'm afraid it is too late to keep it to ourselves." Aradia sighed before beginning to recite it. Harry grabbed up a piece of paper and a pen and started copying it down for later though it wasn't his current mind that did it. He recognised Liam there but also others. "One from the land of kings long forgotten; One from the hearth that still holds the spark; One from the Day world where two eyes are watching; One from the Twilight to be one with the dark."

Cameron glanced at Harry's writing with a frown. "English might have helped, Harry." Cameron pointed out.

Harry frowned down at his own shorthand scribbling with a frown. "What language is that?" Thierry asked as Harry put the pad down on the table.

"Not a clue." Harry sighed. "I don't recognise it."

The group all blinked at him in surprise. "So it's from the last life that hasn't come forward yet?" Cameron checked.

"Don't we have more important things to discuss?" Harry asked the group as a whole.

"Indeed." Aradia pointed out.

"Are we to believe this is linked to the Wild Powers?" Thierry asked.

"Four to stand between the light and the shadow. Four of blue fire, power in their blood. Born in the year of the blind Maiden's vision; Four less one and darkness triumphs." Harry recited in English for them.

"You know that prophecy?" Grandma Harmen asked.

"Yes." Harry nodded.

"Nobody knows who gave it. Hecate wrote it in one of her books."

"I know she did." Harry grinned at her and glanced at Thierry who looked just as confused. "I'm the one that gave it to her."

"It's your vision?" Hannah asked.

"No, it was my grandmother's." Harry frowned not realising he wasn't making any sense.

"Harry, be more specific." Cameron squeezed his hand. Harry looked up sharply and blushed.

"Sorry, I meant A'Zia's grandmother. A'Vena." Harry smiled gently. "She was awesome. She was also the one that told me not to go see what the Amaru looked like. Should have really listened to her."

Cameron sniggered knowing what he was talking about but the others were clueless. "Sorry."

Harry looked at Cameron with a grin which faded as he turned back. "She made the prophecy just as the world was starting to fall to flames. Like in your own prophecies. It describes the last of the fights for world supremacy."

"We get most of it." Thierry spoke up. "Four of them which fits with Aradia's prophecy this morning. Blood power in the form of blue fire. If we lose one of them then darkness wins."

"And I believe it is these four that I had a vision about you protecting. If you don't help us protect them we will lose one." Aradia sighed. "I feel that in my gut when I saw you fighting your wars."

"Looks like I'm firmly involved then." Harry leaned into Cameron.

"What we're not sure of is age." Grandma Harmen spoke up. "There's a lot of thought over the matter. The Blind Maiden is obviously Aradia since there has never been another Maiden who has lost her eyesight."

"What's difficult about it?" Harry frowned in confusion. "They were born in the year of her vision."

"But which vision?" Hannah pressed and Harry frowned at her before realising where she was going. He snorted in amusement before laughing for a few seconds but then bit his lip to calm down. The others gave him a moment and he breathed out to calm himself down.

"Sorry." He apologised but they all knew he didn't really mean it. "A loss of translation I suppose. I forget how stupid the English language is at times. Let me restate it." Harry ran off the prophecy in A'zia's native language and although they couldn't hope to understand it they could pick up the different sentences. He repeated the part about the blind maiden's vision.

"The word used there for vision translates to _vision_." Harry explained. "The vision of eyes. What you actually see physically. My tribe had a completely different word for the type your thinking about."

"So the prophecy actually means when I wasn't blind?" Aradia smiled. "My first year."

"Looks like you have an advantage over your opponents after all." Harry smiled and leaned further into Cameron. "You know their age."

"Thank you." Grandma Harmen gave him a rough smile.

"If that's all?" Harry prompted as he rubbed at his head.

"Ryn?" Thierry asked with a frown seeing suddenly how strained Harry was.

"I think doing that..." Harry waved at his shorthand scribbling on the desk. "Strained me a little."

"There's nothing more." Grandma Harmen assured him. "If Rashel and Quinn are to remain with you then they will be able to contact you should we need to ask you anything."

Harry rose up and Cameron steadied him as he wavered slightly. Harry squeezed Aradia's shoulder gently. "Something tells me that much of this task will be out of our hands. We must only pick up what pieces we can."

"That's definitely not, Ryn." Thierry chuckled.

Harry flashed him a smile. "Something similar to what A'Vena would say."

Cameron looped an arm around his waist and they barely made it out into the hall before Harry slumped suddenly and his vision blurred. He felt strong arms lift him up and recognised Quinn peering at him.

"Is he alright?" Rashel asked.

Harry's eyesight faded and he heard Rashel calling back inside for the others in concern. _"Harry?"_ Cameron called into his mind but was met with an alien mind that he didn't recognise and Harry was struggling against. _"Love?"_

_"I'm still here."_ Harry managed to meet Cameron's mind even as his body failed and went limp. _"It's merging."_

"Get him to a bed." Thierry's sharp voice ordered and Harry felt himself going weightless as somebody ran up the stairs with him. Darkness finally closed in around him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Oliver ducked under a low beam, his hand gripping around his sword. Or should he say, Imazato's sword. They weren't expecting too much trouble under the French town but with them being firmly in the French held lands he wasn't going to be foolish. His basic armour was more like light armour rather than the heavy armour of the Knights but it meant he could move._

_He entered the fourth chamber and through the second blocked up wall that had been cleared in the last few hours and into a space that nobody had breathed into for hundreds of years. Possibly even as far back as before Christ. Then again the current year system didn't really bother him since he remembered events that predated it by such a large amount that trying to reference it just made matters confusing. What did his men care about events almost thirty thousand years before Christ?_

_He walked into the final chamber and had to snatch out a hand to catch one of his men that almost stepped out onto the false floor. There was a large hole in the ground where the first team in here had made that mistake. This was why he was down here and not up the top keeping an eye out for the local Count's troops. He scratched at his chin with a sigh as he studied the ground and the seemingly plain wall on the other side. Why did these things have to be so complicated. Why couldn't it just come down to come, collect and bury? Preferably, for A'Zia's sake, somewhere in an active volcano. He snorted much to the shock of his men at the thought since volcanoes hadn't really done much to them the first time._

_He spied the pattern to the floor though, written there in the language of the Mayans. Thirty thousand year old traps under a few thousand year old city. He shook his head and stepped out and to his right following the patterns on the floor. He made it half way across the floor when one of his men tried to follow and fell straight through the floor, having missed where he'd stood by only a few inches._

_"Just stay there, you idiots!" Oliver snapped as he reached the other end of the room and finding the impression he'd spotted from the other side of the room he pulled out the caked mud, having to use a sharp knife for most of it. He shifted the lever and all at once the ground behind him dropped away as everything but the safe path fell away._

_"Where next then?" One of his men called to him._

_Oliver didn't answer because he could already see it glimmering beneath him along with the bodies of those foolish enough to have fallen already. It was only a hundred foot drop so they were probably still alive but they weren't making any noise. "Throw down a torch!" Oliver ordered and watched as one of his three remaining men tossed down the burning torch until it hit the stone floor and there it was amongst the five bodies of his team. One single man lying under millennia of fallen dust yet his body still visible. His naked skin reflecting the light from the torch._

_"There's nothing there!" His men opposite him called. Oliver stepped out onto the walkway and tied on his rope before rappelling down. It took them only an hour to retrieve the body using the rope and get it up into the corridor and the men were muttering the entire time about who it was and how they could be down there. The body radiated a kind of dull heat but was cold to the touch at the same time. The others seemed to fear awakening it but Oliver knew it wouldn't wake. Not unless specific magic freed it._

_"What about the rest?" One of his three men asked. "Just leave them down there?"_

_Oliver knew he had to do it. He didn't like it but it was necessary. If any of the Night World learned about what they'd unearthed here then it would be the end of the world. This lifetime he'd been given a chance to do some good and perhaps the good wouldn't come now but somewhere in the future but he had to cling to that in his soul. He twisted and his Samurai Sword flashed in the torch light, a lethal extension of himself and backed by almost every form of warfare that had ever existed._

_His men didn't have a chance._

Harry choked as he woke up and the hands on him only made him tremble in fear even as his eyes tried to focus beyond the death of Oliver. He swallowed but failed to prevent it from happening as he threw himself to the side and threw up on the floor. Cameron cradled him as he sobbed and cried for everything that Oliver had done in his thirty years before dying to protect his secret.

But it wasn't just that. As Harry threw up his lives throbbed within him as Oliver trembled in the centre of his core as he was faced with the faces of all of those that he had killed. Innocent people that had died on the end of his sword to protect the secret of Oliver's life. Even an English Crown Prince and a dozen of his best men. Harry scrambled away from Cameron not wanting to feel the care that Cameron wanted to give to him. He fell out onto the balcony that linked his room to Jez, Tamarack and Nicky's and almost hurled himself over the railing to the grass on the other side.

"Harry!" Cameron yelled but Harry didn't listen and leapt over and hit the ground a second later, jarring his knees. He fell down onto his hands and knees and cried. Those three loyal men that he'd joked with the day before attacking Grenoble and then killed and let their bodies fall into the darkness and left them there with their comrades. Just so nobody would know that he'd left there with a prize.

He started walking across the grass, half the time stumbling and catching himself on his hands. Cameron had said that because his soul was good that all of his lives would be the same but Oliver... Oliver hadn't been like the others. What he'd done had been necessary but there was a reason why he'd vowed to never remember the life again until it was necessary and somehow that vow had taken on a power and kept his later lives over the last thousand years from knowing the darkness that tainted his soul.

He saw a flash of himself, in this life time, obliterating Voldemort with spells that would later scare the Wizards after Voldemort had killed Remus. He found himself lying on his back after the flash and made to keep walking only to have Cameron catch his arm. "Harry, talk to me!"

"My name's not Harry!" The part of him that was Oliver snapped at Cameron. "Harry... the others, they don't deserve this..."

"This what?" Cameron tried. He tried to offer Harry a dressing gown to go over his boxers but Harry flinched back out of reach.

"This torment!" He cried and stumbled back away from his Soulmate. A shape flickered through the shadows on his right and there was a low growl behind him even as another shape appeared behind Cameron. Tamarack.

"Cameron?" Tamarack asked. "Is he...?"

"He's fine!" Cameron yelled.

Harry gave out a short cry of amusement. "I could kill you, Cam!" Harry snapped but he was still more Oliver than anyone else and the other parts of him were struggling to make Oliver a part of themselves. He wanted to open his wings, to fly into the night but there were too many people there and Oliver was too fixated on keeping his secrets. "I killed them, Cam."

"Killed who?" A voice asked from his right and Harry twisted and reached for a sword that wasn't even there. It was too dark and Harry began backing away, unable to see his stalkers. A growl from behind him made him shake and look around for a weapon. "Leave us!" Thierry ordered as he stepped into the moonlight. The growl rumbled but faded away. "Harry?"

"I'm not Harry!" He shook his head and collapsed to his knees. "I..."

"Did you witness your last life?" Thierry asked.

"Love?" Cameron reached out to him and his words vibrated through his mind. Cameron winced as their minds connected but it was so crazed but parts of Harry's mind reached for Cameron to help while a part drew away and tried to hide. Cameron reached for it just as Harry collapsed backwards like his strings had been cut. Thierry caught him but quickly handed him to Cameron when he began begging for him. Tears flowing.

"Get him back into his bed, Cameron." Thierry sighed. Cameron nodded and gently lifted Harry into his arms. Harry shook and his words of pleading made Cameron's own tears fall. Whatever this new life had done it was hurting his Soulmate.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next evening**

Harry had finally fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning and Cameron had drifted off with him and it was a surprise when Harry woke up first to find tears on Cameron's face. Harry wiped them off gently and then kissed Cameron's cheeks before snuggling into his side. He knew he'd flipped out on them all last night but when Oliver's life had hurtled into him it had carried him away. Oliver had had no family and no friends. He'd made himself into a cold person so that he couldn't be hurt by losing people ever again and if it wasn't for the permanency of Cameron in his life then he'd be trying to convince himself to leave to spare the pain of losing Cameron too.

Then there was the part of him that no longer wanted to tell even Cameron his secrets because he was Night World and even if he wasn't it would only endanger his life to know of them. When Cameron woke up Harry didn't even realise until he focused away from his thoughts and saw Cameron staying up at him.

"Love?" Cameron tried.

"I'm so sorry, Cam." Harry dropped his head down before opening up his mind and meeting Cameron's as they merged. He still told the story out loud but shared little moments of Oliver's life with his Soulmate.

"Tell me about him, Harry."

"His name was Oliver Tanner." Harry sighed. "It was early on in the English occupation of Northern France. Before Calamy faced Maya to help Hannah. His father was a Knight in the King's army but Oliver grew up in what is now Hampshire in England."

Cameron witnessed a few images as they rose to the surface of Oliver playing with one of the servant boys and then when it had all started. When Oliver was only twelve and he and Gerald had fallen through the ground in a nearby wood and Gerald had been wounded. "As I tried to find a way out with one broken leg I found a massive chamber." Cameron witnessed his discovery but then everything went blank as the memories fell away from Cameron and Harry drew back. "Cam, you trust me right?"

"Of course?" Cameron nodded.

"Oliver is telling me not to involve you but I think you will get involved anyway but please, love." Harry begged. "Don't mention the details to anyone else. Nobody."

"Nobody." Cameron agreed. "Not a soul. Why?"

"Because they'll kill you for it too." Harry cried and dropped his head back down and reconnected with him. Displaying the rest of that memory for Cameron. An image of Oliver walking into the dark space lit only by a small crack in the roof far above them. In the middle on a stone floor and half buried was a sarcophagus. Oliver shifted off part of the cracked lid to find a perfectly preserved human body. Dark skin tone and open red eyes staring up.

"Amaru." Harry whispered so quietly that if A'Zia and Oliver hadn't been saying it in his mind then Cameron would never have heard it. Cameron flinched but tucked his hands around Harry again.

"Oliver ran for it and that night he started awakening. A'Zia first as always and the next day I knew I had to tell Gerald not to tell anyone what we'd seen down there but it was already too late." Harry sighed. "Gerald had told the kitchen staff and it got around in town. The Night World controlled a lot of England back then and they were quick to recognise something so strange. Three Vampires arrived and wiped out the entire town. They killed everyone and I went down to the... tomb."

The memory showed itself to Cameron. As a twelve year old surprised all three of the Vampires and killed them, merely because they'd underestimated him and he'd gotten lucky. "I knew I had to keep the body a secret and I carried it out and left with it. I hid it so that nobody would find it and Oliver dedicated his life to finding and hiding all of the Amaru he could find knowing that as the world changed the humans would find them and then the Night World would too."

Cameron didn't interrupt because he knew there was more and even before Harry could continue memories were flashing through his mind. Harry cried as Cameron watched Oliver murdering his own men to ensure that the secret was never found. Finally the last image as Oliver was cornered by Night Worlders on the hunt for rumours of discoveries. They found out about him.

Oliver had taken his own sword and stabbed himself in the chest so he didn't have to feel them tearing out his throat again. He'd known that he'd had no way out.

"He made a promise to himself that unless a future life was faced with something to do with the Amaru that they wouldn't have to suffer through what he'd done." Harry cried freely onto Cameron's chest. "So none of them ever remembered. Not until now because the prophecies are coming forward. Oliver knew about them all. It was his shorthand I used yesterday. His secret writing so nobody could follow his trail."

Cameron lay in silence just feeling the chaos of Harry's mind and catching snap shots of his lives as they brushed passed him.

"Please, Cameron..." Harry begged.

"What, Harry?" Cameron asked gently.

"Please..." Harry cried so hard he couldn't even finish. Cameron frowned and rolled them both so he was lying on Harry so he could pin his face and focus on him.

"This changes nothing between us." Cameron told him sternly. "I love you, Harry. And I love A'Zia, Ryn, Calamy, Lucus, all of the others. Oliver too. I think what you did as Oliver was really noble. You knew you were fighting something bigger than just you and had to do it alone and you knew the cost of that kind of war. If those men you killed had lived they would have spread the rumours of what you had found and then they, and a lot more, would have died. Not to mention a Vampire like Maya getting a hold of a sleeping Dragon." Cameron actually shuddered at that idea.

"Please say that again." Harry begged but his tone was slightly different. Cameron could never keep up with the different ways that Harry spoke depending on who he was most relating too then but he figured it would be Oliver right now.

"I love you, Oliver." Cameron kissed him on the lips knowing exactly what his Soulmate needed right now. It wasn't just 'Harry' that was his Soulmate but all of his lives right back to A'Zia and Oliver had never let himself love or be loved by anyone.

"I love you too." Harry trembled and Cameron hugged him, letting Harry hide underneath him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Four days later**

It was generally accepted that if Harry wanted to tell anyone any of the details about his latest life then he would. He had apologised to Thierry for what had happened and Cameron had thanked his best friend, Tamarack, for trying to help but neither of them had told anyone much about Oliver. His name and when he'd lived had come forward but nothing about his self imposed quest nor his sacrifice and that was the way that Harry preferred it. It wasn't like he wasn't used to keeping secrets but this time he really wasn't since Cameron witnessed any of his memories at a whim when they were lying together in bed.

On their second to last night together at the manner Harry and Cameron finally accepted that there'd be no sudden new change between them and their normal holding and kissing had turned into something much more intimate and for a change Harry let himself guide Cameron who had no clue about matters like this. Their relationship became a lot more physical after that and Tamarack learned quickly not to try to tease Harry about it when she'd smelt Cameron on him and vice versa at a much deeper level. He'd swapped her shampoo for dye and while rather obvious she'd missed it and Jez hadn't spotted it in time to warn her and her hair had been bright pink for a day before Nicky helped her out, while trying not to laugh at her.

Although they all had to admit it was a little risky to all be seen outside of the mansion together they made all of the precautions and since Thierry was doing his most to not let anyone see the three humans leaving the mansion to their new apartment they didn't see much harm in Tamarack and Cameron going with them, along with Quinn and Rashel, to help them move in. The apartment was miles away from the strip, in the less tourist areas of the city nearer to the Prima Institute and the buildings were visible just along the road from their apartment building.

To anyone it just looked like three friends moving in with the help of four of their friends, even though three of them seemed more interested in checking all the doors and window and eyeing up the other apartment tenants than anything else. Between Thierry and his fellows in Circle Daybreak they'd quietly sent for some of Jez, Nicky and Harry's things so it wasn't a surprise to see boxes of their stuff in the middle of their new apartment to go with the clothing and items that they'd gotten in the month and a half at Thierry's house.

During the day Quinn had pointed to an apartment just down the hall from their own place and a quick mention inside the safety of their flat informed them that Quinn and Rashel would be moving in there the next day but would be around that night anyway and since Tamarack and Cameron were staying too it didn't look strange for the Vampire and Hunter to end up crashing on their sofa although Nicky had offered to give up her own bed.

The apartment was simple with a living room with a secluded kitchenette and then a single hallway with two doors on either side, one of which was a bathroom and the other three were bedrooms, all with double beds. They got themselves moved in and then just relaxed as Harry moved around the kitchen working out what food to send out for. Thierry didn't want them going to the same place shopping all the time because of the crowds and the protection nightmare so it was easier for them to internet shop. The precautions had made Nicky and Jez laugh but Harry didn't mind. He'd never liked shopping in supermarkets anyway and the ones in Las Vegas were even bigger than the ones he remembered from Britain.

Cameron was fast to fall asleep that night and even though Harry got up quite quickly it was still around two in the morning because not only had they made use of the bed like two young adults would but they'd talked in their minds for the rest of the night. Harry walked bare foot out into the living room wearing jeans but forgoing the t-shirt in favour of feeling the fresh air against his skin. He found Quinn asleep on the sofa and Rashel studying the distant lights of the Strip through the window.

"Did you want something to drink, Rashel?" Harry asked gently from the kitchenette making her slide around to face him just like the cat she had acclaimed to be in her Hunting days. She took a moment to relax her body and gained a few inches as she rose out of her fighting stance but Harry didn't react to it at all.

"Do we have much?" She asked with a glance to Quinn who shifted in his sleep but stayed firmly in the dream world.

"Nicky might be an early riser but neither she nor Jez are good in the morning until they've had a cup of coffee. Cameron's not much better but with my mind as it is he wakes up pretty quickly as soon as he meets it every morning." Harry smiled slightly. "I'm going to miss having him to wake up to."

"And to fall asleep to." She quirked an eyebrow. "No coffee please."

"I was going to make hot chocolate for myself." Harry shrugged. "I don't drink coffee and I figured that if we were packing coffee we could pack chocolate."

"Chocolate sounds great." She smiled and crossed the room so they could lower their voices.

"I thought we were being quiet." Harry frowned looking up at Rashel as he boiled the kettle and placed down two mugs. "I'm really sorry if you had to listen to us."

"You were quiet." She laughed and Harry blushed regardless. "I couldn't hear you. Quinn's a vampire though."

"Oh." He winced. "Sorry."

"You weren't the only ones." Rashel grinned as she waved to the hallway, meaning Tamarack and Jez had been making the most of their last night together too. Harry winced again. "We don't blame you. Quinn and I have been apart for a little while here and there since we met and it's difficult to part ways. We're both used to the solitary life though and Circle Daybreak are good to us. Always keeping us together if they can."

"Do you want this assignment?" He asked. "I mean following me around day and night?"

"It'll be a nice change." She smiled. "Nobody is trying to find you right now. You're a nobody really in the Night World. We're here to ensure you don't have an accident I suppose and also in case word gets out about your relationship with Cameron. Tamarack will get him to safety pretty quickly and with Quinn and I here we can do the same for you."

"I know you have your duty, Rashel." Harry smiled. "But I also know what the two of you mean to each other so I'll be honest with you. If we get into a sticky situation and I tell you to leave and forget about me then I want you to do it."

"Harry, that's not going to happen." Rashel sighed. "Our job is to keep you alive and well."

"And I have my own ways of getting out of sticky situations." Harry assured her. "I admit I'm just a human but I've fought wars, Rashel. Both longer and more dangerous than this current situation. Even when compared to Quinn."

"Even so..." She started.

"Do you think you can take me on, Rashel?" Harry asked suddenly. "Do you think Quinn could, or even Tamarack?"

"Quinn and Tamarack are vampires, Harry." She sighed.

"You used to kill Vampires." Harry pointed out. "Vampires might be faster and stronger but they still obey certain laws. If you understand them and use methods that work then you can fight them. You know this as much as I do. I've killed Vampires before, Rashel."

Before Rashel could move Harry lashed out at her, far slower than he could do and he let his body warn her. She caught his wrist before he could hit her on the side of the head and in return he grabbed her own wrist, clamped onto a pressure point and forced her to release his hand. He lashed out again, faster and she moved back out of the way. Harry backed off and rolled a table knife around his hand and put it back down on the surface knowing that she was trying to work out why she'd missed him picking it up. He sighed and leaned forwards on his elbows and she came back to him.

"I know I've come across as weak and Cameron is the one always holding me and caring for me but that's because I want to let him take care of me. I don't want to always have to look after myself and when I'm around him I like him caring for me." Harry sighed and glanced in the direction of Quinn only to find the Vampire watching them. Probably having heard their little fight. "I can, however, look after myself. Some of the time not well enough because I haven't fully integrated all of my lives. Like Alexis. I have no doubt that had I awakened earlier when I was him he would have killed Quinn. It's just at the moment I'm dealing with the bad parts in my life and I'll admit it's a little trying for me."

"Well, Thierry wants you protected so that's what we'll do." Quinn announced and slid up from the sofa, not bothering to pull on his jeans or shirt. He did grab the blanket though and when he was behind his Soulmate he wrapped it around them both and kissed the side of her neck. She leant back into him. Harry smiled at them having never seen any form of contact between them beyond the odd loving look.

"He just knows that I got my throat ripped out to protect him once. He doesn't want it to happen again." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Cameron would slap you for saying that like that." Rashel smirked at him.

"Well Cameron's the only one that's seen all of the ways I've died before." Harry shrugged before finally giving Rashel her hot chocolate. "And no, I'm not giving you anything to drink." He told Quinn.

"I fed before we came to help you." Quinn smiled but had learnt a long time ago not to bare his teeth at Harry like he normally did when he found something amusing. It caused bad reactions with Alexis. "On that note." Quinn spoke up obviously seeing a small shift in Harry's demeanour. "There's another reason I want to protect you."

"I know what you're going to say and I'd really rather not think about it." Harry said bluntly but Quinn spoke regardless.

"Even so. I owe you. I took something from you that I can never give back. Yet you're the only victim of mine where I might have the chance to repay them someday." Quinn spoke softly. "And now you're not the only one that remembers that day as if it occurred only a month ago. I remember it all the time and Rashel has seen it too."

"That doesn't change anything." Harry told him before hiding his shaking hands by holding his warm mug tightly.

"No." Quinn shook his head. "But it's one of the reasons that protecting you and keeping you safe is more than just necessary to me. I understand what living a life with Cameron means to you, especially you for I understand that this life is a one off for you. I took away your life once before. Let me be there to ensure you have one this time."

Harry eyed him before slowly nodding. "What will you do, Rashel?"

She frowned but Quinn knew what he was asking and a conversation seemed to pass between them. She smiled at him and nodded. "I'm nineteen but I won't come back like Hannah will if she chooses not to change. For that reason I'll take the change in the next year but I won't do it for this war. I'll do it afterwards to be with Quinn."

Harry nodded since he could appreciate that. "And if it comes to making a choice between saving me and saving Rashel?" Harry asked Quinn who froze up in shock. They knew what his answer should be and Quinn knew what he was going to say but just didn't want to cause problems by saying it. "Always your heart first, Quinn. It's always you heart before your duty. I'm old enough to know that. If it comes to it you save Rashel before me just as I would save Cameron before Rashel."

"Hopefully, since you and Rashel can both kick my arse if you want to it won't come to that." Quinn smiled slightly but Harry knew he'd touched a nerve.

"I have an advantage over the two of you, I suppose." Harry shrugged. "You're both wondering what you'll do in that last moment of life. Will you try to save yourself or the other? You both want to say the other but you're never really sure. I've already made that decision several times. I know how I'll react."

"However morbid that sounds." Rashel snorted.

"You should be asleep." Quinn made a disgruntled face. "You haven't gotten any yet."

"Maybe I'll go wake up Cameron and burn off some more energy." Harry grinned.

"Please don't." Quinn frowned.

Harry put his mug in the sink and nodded to the two and headed down the hallway and slipped back into bed with the love of his life. And possibly lives since no love had ever compared with his love for Cameron.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Three days later**

Harry tucked his hands into the lab coat's pockets as he walked between Jez and Nicky and behind the two other students that were going to work with the expedition. The group was on the grand tour given by the student who actually went to Prima. His name was Gordon and so far he seemed like an arse to Harry. Spouting off constantly about his Institute which was always _the_ Institute as if it was the only one worth considering. What he didn't seem to get was that none of the four of them were from rival Research Centres like this. The three of them were college students and Michael, from the French Breeding Programme, was a full time apprentice with Doctor Ammen. Gordon did seem to know what he was talking about but his little extra titbits to the 'poor little foreigners' usually fell on deaf ears because they knew them all already. Michael was sticking next to Gordon out of politeness because the three of them were sticking together but he looked about ready to drop back and hide behind them at any moment.

"And this is the reptile centre." Gordon announced holding the door open for Nicky like he did at every opportunity. Harry graciously let Nicky walk in ahead of them and then Gordon cut in front of them all. Harry and Jez glanced at each other and then sniggered.

"You are not worried at his attention towards your lady friend?" Michael asked in broken English.

"She'll kick his arse if he tries anything." Jez snorted and when Michael looked confused Harry filled in the blanks a little more pleasantly in French for him. Michael smiled at him happily at finding somebody amongst them that spoke his home language and quickly Michael took to walking closer to Harry, glad when Harry could translate the odd word for him that he wasn't used to.

"It is of course up to you to decide whether it is safe to handle the snakes." Gordon told them. "Of course all snakes can be handled if you do so with the proper caution."

"Fuck that." Jez grunted and stepped behind Harry and away from where Gordon was pulling on gloves just above a Viper tank with a rather peeved off snake inside. That was until it spotted Harry and stretched itself up to look at him. Gordon took the opportunity to reach out and firmly grip in around the neck and then tail and hold it up as if showing them how to do it properly.

"Who taught you that?" Harry snapped as the snaked hissed in pain and fury. "You're just pissing it off."

Gordon snorted. "Look kid, it's a snake. You handle them this way..."

"I worked in a zoo all summer. I'm not an idiot." Harry snorted and reached out and before Gordon could react he was stroking the Viper on the top of the head. Or rather just holding his hands above it and letting it rub its scales against him. "Give him here before you hurt the poor thing. Stupid bulldozer."

He took the Viper from Gordon without another word. "Suit yourself but if it bites you drive yourself to the hospital."

"It's been milked already this morning." Harry pointed out offhandedly pointing with one hand at the crib sheet that somebody had signed for that day. A viper like this would need several days to muster up a dangerous dose to a human. "Besides he's not interested in biting me, are you?" Harry asked the snake as he lifted the head to look at him and then let him coil around his arm and rest his head on his shoulder. "See, now he's hurt because you're an idiot." Harry told Gordon.

"You know I hid behind you hoping you wouldn't pick up the snake and bring it closer." Jez grumbled as he moved to let Nicky shield him which only made him nervous since there were more tanks in the room.

"Suck it up, Jez." Nicky laughed.

"You know what, just show yourselves around." Gordon huffed and slammed the door on his way out.

"It's already, babe." Harry grinned at the snake as he stroked it on the back of the head. "Your wild cousins will get him back in the African Tundra."

Jez and Nicky snorted in amusement although Michael looked confused so Harry told him the same thing in French which made the other boy laugh.

"You seem well versed in handling snakes, young man." A woman appeared from a side door and soft shoes whispered across the ground.

"I have a bit of a knack." Harry shrugged. "Besides, snakes are easy really. They don't bite humans to eat. They just get scared and defend themselves."

"You called him a he." She raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain why?"

"Because he's male." Harry frowned in confusion. "The patterning is that of a male."

"Impressive." She nodded to show he was right though. "Can you tell if he's hurt?"

"Nothing physical." Harry assured her still stroking the hissing snake who was about to fall asleep on his shoulder. "Just emotionally. He didn't like being grabbed like that."

"You'd be Mr. Potter then?" She asked in amusement. Harry nodded even as Jez and Nicky laughed at his slight blush. "I'd hoped to see if Doctor Mitchell was right about you. Pass him here so I can check him to make sure. I really should ban that cretin. He's always showing the snakes off to his girlfriends."

Harry passed the snake to her who didn't look entirely happy to lose his Harry-bed but seemed to accept the woman instead and then let himself be settled down into his tank. She dug in her pocket and passed Harry a very small piece of chocolate. He raised an eyebrow at her but could already hear the Viper's excitement over the treat so placed it on his arm and lowered his hand down into the tank. Letting the snake slide up his arm to retrieve the treat and then sink back down to eat it. "Chocolate?"

"Keeps them happy." She smiled. "Doesn't do them any harm and doesn't muck up their diets when you're careful about how much you give them."

"It was a pleasure to meet you...."

"Doctor Havant." She smiled. "I'll be coming out with you on the expedition and you've got quite a few classes with me in the meantime on reptiles and I'm also the expedition's medical specialist too so you'll see me for that."

"Well, uh... Doctor Havant." Harry smiled. "We seem to have made an enemy of our guide and we're supposed to finish our tour. Could you possibly point us towards the closest other entre and we'll hop between them ourselves?"

"A wise idea. You'll probably actually learn something useful that way." She nodded and gave them directions to the primate centre where Harry knew that they'd meet up with Doctor Mitchell and could explain why they were alone. "And just a word of warning. Mr Collins, your previous guide, is the centre Director's nephew. He's on the expedition because he has the grades necessary that people didn't argue when the Director said he was going. However most of us aren't happy that he has the instincts necessary to really be of help. As you could probably tell, he has a reasonable level of theoretically knowledge, enough to get by, but not enough to make any real progress in this line of work. He's going to cause problems during the expedition when he makes mistake. But also he can make problems for you if he wants to with his Uncle."

"We appreciate the warning." Michael told her with a small smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Havant."

"Oh I'm sorry." She smiled having realised that beyond Harry she hadn't been introduced. "You must be Michael Ferrow. And you must be Nicola Longinton which makes you Jeremy Currond."

"Nicky."

"Jez." Both of them spoke up making Harry laugh at them but they all offered their hands to make the introduction formal.

"Thank you, Doctor Havant." Harry nodded. "We'll leave you in peace now but I'm sure we're all looking forward to your classes." She nodded and the group of four retreated from the reptile centre and followed her directions to go get into trouble with Harry's boss.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Three hours later**

"Michael's coming over for dinner with us." Harry announced. "I hope that's okay?"

"Picking up strays again, Harry?" Nicky asked with a smirk.

"He picked us two up didn't he?" Jez asked.

"He's living on his own two buildings from us." Harry rolled his eyes. "I didn't see the harm in it but if you're going to be children about it I'll tell him really nasty stuff about you in French so you don't know what I'm saying."

"I did take French at A-level, Harry." Nicky rolled her eyes.

"Well I didn't!" Jez sulked before grabbing Harry and hugging his waist as he fell to his knees and pretended to beg. "Please don't tell him about me! I'll do anything!"

"Well there's an offer to remember." Nicky smirked and swatted Jez on the back of the head as he stood back up. He looked at her as if wondering whether to hug her around the waist too and she neatly stepped up behind Harry. Jez pouted.

Harry laughed. "I've missed this you know?"

"What now that you two don't have Tamarack and Cameron around?" Nicky snorted before slinging her arm around Harry. "Yup, got my boys back."

"Aw... Nicky!" Jez grinned and hugged them both in a rather hyperactive way that almost had the three of them falling backwards onto the ground. "We'll always be your boys!"

Nicky shoved Jez away. "Now that Tamarack's gone we're going to have to find another new way for you to burn off your energy."

"Well Harry is missing Cameron...." Jez smirked.

Harry shoved him as he lost the fight against the blush. "Jerk."

All three of them cracked up into laughter just as Michael spotted them and headed over. "Hello." He greeted them.

"Hi, Michael." Jez grinned. "This way!" He put an arm across their new friend's shoulders and tugged him away down the road.

Harry laughed and took Nicky's hand in his own. "You know, Nicky." He nudged her with his shoulder. "We'll always have time for you."

"I know that, Harry." Nicky squeezed his hand. "I was happy this summer letting you have your own time. I understand what Cameron and Tamarack mean to the two of you and..."

"And...?" Harry prompted.

"Well even ignoring this whole..." She flickered her fingers at Harry which made Harry snort in amusement but he knew she meant his Old Soul status. "Even ignoring that you and Jez both need a bit more happiness in your lives. You've both had it rough, rougher than me, and you deserve something good."

"Yeah well if the three of us hadn't met then who knows where I'd be right now?" Harry shrugged. "I found you and Jez just when I needed to. Hell, you know I went through three roommates before Jez got there. I suppose if we weren't as we all are we'd never have understood each other enough to help each other."

"You two aren't having a serious conversation are you?" Jez yelled back.

"We're within ten feet of you!" Harry called back. "Of course we're not!"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Oliver tied the crate down to the back of his cart and checked the reigns of the horse as the Captain of the cross channel ship muttered to himself. "Thank you for the safe voyage, Captain." Oliver thanked the man._

_"I'm just glad to see that.... thing off of my ship." The Captain grunted. Oliver nodded and swung up onto the front of his cart and pushed in into motion, heading away from the small ship sitting in the bay. As he got far enough away he watched the ship. Early on in the voyage one of the crew had opened his crate to find out what he was hauling and since it was about the length of a coffin they'd gotten suspicious. It had caused uproar and Oliver had ended up paying the Captain a massive price to get him to continue the voyage after they realised that the body wasn't a normal corpse._

_He'd checked and none of the crew got shore leave until they'd finished sorting out the ship which would in several hours but he hadn't given them that long. If they hadn't looked they'd be able to go about their lives but if somebody in particular heard the sailors talking about the body they'd brought into England it could cause him major troubles._

_He didn't have to wait long as just as he watched the Captain walk up onto the quarter deck of the small ship the ship's magazine exploded, shattering the ship and sending a shock wave through the small port of Dover. People began shouting and rushing around but there was nothing left alive but torn up bodies. No history that Oliver had ever been on the ship. No trace. Just like there never could be._

Harry cried out as he shot awake and started searching for Cameron's calm presence but his mind couldn't find him and neither could his hands. He pulled the blankets around himself knowing that he couldn't use his wings and just trembled in his bed as he tried to calm down. His door slammed open and a half naked Jez dashed into the room as a dressing gown wearing Nicky stood in her door opposite Harry's. Jez left the door open but caught Harry in his arms and pulled the blanket around them both, holding Harry's shaking body to himself as Harry turned into him and just cried, like he'd used to about his old nightmares. Now though he had so many more horrors in his mind.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

A tired Harry scooped up his notes and pushed them into his satchel bag. He ran his right hand through his hair and let Jez tug him along. They'd just had a three hour session with one of the primate specialists and it had been intense. They'd covered the material at such a fast rate that Harry knew in a matter of months they would overtake where their college peers would be in a year's time.

Nicky was talking to Michael and Gordon but Jez had clearly decided just to take Harry home and to get him tucked up in bed and Harry wasn't really planning on stopping him. Although he might make Jez stay with him. Jez made a good pillow and he was good at keeping away errant nightmares.

They got back to the apartment to find three people in their living room. Harry's hand flew to a hidden silver knife hidden behind the books on the shelf next to the door but didn't pick it up when he recognised them all. He had pulled Jez behind him though.

"Sorry." Thierry apologised.

"It's alright, Thierry." Harry sighed as he shut the door behind them. "The knife wouldn't have hurt you or Quinn. Sorry, Rashel." She laughed. "So did you miss us?"

"Hannah is missing the company." Thierry moved forwards and frowned at how tired Harry was looking. "You haven't been sleeping well?"

"Screams every night." Jez added in helpfully only to get whacked on the shoulder by Harry.

"Just taking time to accept some of the memories." Harry shrugged but then accepted Thierry's invitation for a hug and let the stronger man hold him up. "Seems strange this."

"You're a nineteen year old kid." Thierry laughed. "Granted with a mind that's seen almost as many years as me over a half again the time I have lived."

"Makes me feel like I'm about to explode." Harry sighed as he pulled back. "What brings you down here?"

"Events are... progressing." Thierry sighed. "We intercepted a message from a Vampire gang in San Francisco. It hasn't taken long for someone to believe they have found one of the Wild Powers."

"You don't think it's a hoax?" Jez asked, just a little out of his depth. Harry sat down and when Jez sat beside him he leaned into his side.

"Not unless he wants to die." Thierry shook his head. "He's offered up the identity to the Night World Council."

"So?" Jez asked with a frown.

"You don't do that unless you have something real to offer. They're a bunch of tossers and they'll take off his head if he pisses them off." Harry explained.

"Hey." Thierry raised an eyebrow. "You realise I'm a member of the Council right?"

"Yeah?" Harry teased.

Thierry rolled his eyes. "Ryn, you never change."

"I try not to, brother." Harry grinned. "What do you plan to do?"

"Circle Daybreak is on it already." Thierry told him. "The gang's ex-leader now works with us. She discovered that she was a hybrid a year or so ago and ran away from the gang. She's half Lamia and half human. Doesn't need blood to live unless she uses too many of her advanced powers."

"Right." Harry nodded. "She's going to try to rejoin the gang and slip the Wild Power away from them?" Thierry nodded. "Does she understand the danger?" He asked.

"She understands." Thierry nodded. "Hugh went to speak to her. They are friends."

"Hugh's a good guy. A little young in comparison to Hannah and I but he's got a good head on his shoulders." Harry nodded. He'd met the other Old Soul a few weeks ago when Circle Daybreak had officially made Harry one of their own and all of the Old Souls had wanted to meet him. None knew of his original tribe but they all knew he dated back before Hecate's tribe. "If you want me to go there then just tell me, okay?"

"We'll see what happens." Thierry nodded. "If we get a Wild Power then you'll have to meet them."

"Does this girl know what could happen if she loses the Wild Power?" Harry asked.

"She's heard the prophecies." Thierry nodded. Harry sighed and leaned further back into Jez. "You need to sleep."

"I'm not going to break, Thierry." Harry told him sharply.

"I promised Prince Cameron that I'd look after you." Thierry told him simply.

"Oh so that's the only reason?" Harry teased. Thierry was in front of him in a second cupping his chin.

"You know it's not, brother." Thierry sighed. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." Harry retorted before reaching out and ruffling the Vampire Lord's hair with a grin on his face.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next evening**

Harry sat cross-legged on his bed with his cell phone next to his ear and a grin on his face as he talked to Cameron. His Soulmate and the love of his life had been busy over the last few days and unable to do more than send the odd text now and then to make sure Harry didn't think he was being ignored. In return Harry kept sending him photos of stuff he was doing at work including a picture of Jez with a snake over his shoulders and looking rather pale but with a shaky smile on his face as Harry wrapped his arms around him from behind to help him work on his fear. He'd sent that one to Tamarack's phone as well knowing that she'd like it.

"Did your father ask much about what you were doing?" Harry asked.

"My father is currently unavailable." Harry could almost hear his boyfriend's eyes roll. "He's in meetings with the Night World Council. Mom is alright though and she and my sisters were happy to have me back. Mom thinks that I met someone in England and decided to have a bit of a fling but I'm sure I've convinced her that if that was true it's over with now and was just for fun."

"Well I don't really mind being fun." Harry grinned and then laughed. "Have you been up to much?"

"Just catching up with my sisters really. Galen too." Cameron told him. "Went to see a play last night because Liz has an obsession with going to see every single one she can find. It was good though. I've missed them."

"I know you have, Cam." Harry sighed.

"I miss _you_ now though." Cameron dutifully told him and there was a long pause.

"Love you, Cam." Harry bit his lip.

"Oh, Harry." Cameron sounded so sad. "I love you too. Have you been sleeping?"

"Not really." Harry shrugged even though Cameron couldn't see it. "Jez is helping out though. He's just coming to bed with me now."

"I hoped he would." Cameron sighed in relief. "Tell him thanks for me?"

"Of course." Harry smiled. He hadn't been worried that Cameron would be envious because he knew the state that Harry woke up in at times and he slept better when he fell asleep with someone he cared about.

"What are they about?" Cameron asked. They almost always talked about what his nightmares involved.

"Just what..." Harry went to say but his breath caught and he shivered. "About..." He shut his eyes to steel himself.

"Oliver." Cameron said at the same instant that Harry managed to say it too. "I'm sorry, love."

"It's alright." Harry sighed just as his phone bleeped at him to tell him he had an incoming call. "Hang on, Cam." He glanced at the screen to find Hugh waiting for him. "I need to take a call. I'll call you back."

"Ok, love you." Cameron told him quickly.

"Love you too." Harry said before hanging up and accepting Hugh's call before he got bored of waiting. "Hugh?"

"Harry." The man sounded strained and that wasn't really surprising. He'd been awakened for several years but right now he was trying to organise all the Circle Daybreak stuff in San Francisco.

"You sound tired, Hugh." Harry told him.

"You too." Hugh sighed. "Not sleeping?"

"My last life came to me a few days after you left." Harry told him the truth. "It's not... it's not so nice."

"I'm sorry." Hugh told him. "I know Cameron is back at home now. Were you just talking to him."

"Yeah. I'll call him back in a while." Harry told him. "What's up?"

"I just talked to Lord Thierry and he said to give you an update. Jez Redfern, my friend..." Hugh paused trying to work out how to describe her.

"I know all about her history." Harry nodded. "Go on."

"Yeah, right." Hugh made a hum like noise and Harry pictured him biting his lower lip as he thought. It was a habit of his. "Well she got back into the gang. Fought her way back in as the leader."

"The leader let her?" Harry frowned.

"She thinks she won fair and square but she's not as strong now as she was when she left the gang and Morgead Blackthorn was no push over back then and he's gotten stronger." Hugh sighed.

"So you think he let her win?" Harry asked sceptically.

"The way she talks about him..." Hugh frowned. "We've both seen it before. They hate each other's guts but that's only on the surface. They more or less raised each other. There's a bond there that..."

"Hugh?" Harry asked before sighing. "That you can't break."

Hugh didn't say anything for a long moment and Harry waited him out. "Some things are out of our hands." Hugh decided on in the end.

"What's the problem, Hugh?" Harry distracted him.

"Morgead thought he had the Wild Power, a little girl that was on a tape but they tested her and she's not it." Hugh sighed. "Jez thought she was an Old Soul too and we went to talk to her. She's definitely one and she's awakening after seeing the gang."

"A little girl?" He asked. "How old?"

"Ten." Hugh told him. "Why?"

"Because she couldn't have been the Wild Power." Harry told him.

"What?" Hugh sounded shocked. "How come?"

"The year of the Blind Maiden's vision." Harry told him. He knew Hugh hadn't known that part, not many did because they didn't want their opponents to have that vital clue. Harry didn't mind Hugh knowing though. "They have to all be eighteen."

"I don't understand." Hugh frowned.

"I was there for the original telling of that particular prophecy, Hugh." Harry sighed. "A hell of a long time ago. The text was translated so many times but it's stayed the same for the most part except that the original language was more descriptive. Vision means eyesight, not some power to see the future or whatever."

"Why didn't anyone tell me this?" Hugh sounded irritated.

"Because we didn't want..."

"I'm not likely to tell the Council am I!" Hugh cut in.

"Hugh. I'm sorry alright?" Harry sighed. "I only related it to the situation when Aradia had her new prophecy and it's not like things are open access in my head right now."

"You could have called me, Harry." Hugh sighed in defeat. "We're supposed to be on the same side."

"And if people start to realise I was alive that far back they'll start coming for me instead of the Wild Powers." Harry sighed. "And Hugh... I don't want people to start treating me like I'm the answer to all of their problems. That exact thing already lost me everyone I could possible call family."

"Yeah, sorry Harry." Hugh apologised. "I shouldn't lose my temper with you of all people."

"If I'd realised that they already had a girl in line to test I would have called you and told you about the age." Harry sighed.

"Can I tell Jez?" Hugh asked.

"That's fine, Hugh." Harry nodded to himself. "What happens now though? Do they have any more ideas?"

"They're panicking." Hugh told him. "The Council expects answers and they'll rip their gang apart if they don't produce results."

"And if Jez swoops away with the Wild Power what will happen to the gang?" Harry asked.

Hugh was quiet for a moment. "I haven't exactly brought that up with her." Hugh told him.

"That's something for Jez to decide. If she cares about them and she can make them stay out of this fight then I'm sure Circle Daybreak will put them somewhere safe." Harry pointed out.

"And if they can't find results?" Hugh accused. "Will Circle Daybreak leap to their rescue then?"

"You're more Circle leadership than I am, Hugh, so don't try to back me into a corner." Harry told him sharply.

"You're my boss, Harry." Hugh pointed out. "Everyone in Circle Daybreak will take orders from you. Hell everyone saw Lord Thierry bow to your wishes."

"He just feels guilty because I grew up with him in his original life and then died a half dozen times trying to save him and Hannah." Harry pointed out.

"Really?" Hugh sounded shock.

"Don't change the subject." Harry rolled his eyes even though he knew Hugh wouldn't have done it on purpose. "I can't get away from here until tomorrow evening or I'll attract attention but I'll get Thierry to put me on a flight to San Francisco."

"What?" Hugh was clearly shocked. "You're coming here?"

"I have a feeling we're looking in the right place." Harry told him. "Tell Jez to keep at it."

"I will." Hugh sighed. "The Circle leaders are going to flip out if they find out you're coming here."

"Yes well I imagine that the Night World Council won't be just sitting on their hands." Harry shrugged. "Besides what can the other leaders do to me? I'm older than the lot of them. Damn children."

Hugh burst out into laughter and Harry had to admit to himself that part of the reason for going there was because Hugh sounded so miserable. "I'm glad you're coming, Harry."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Harry told him. "I'll call you once my escort and I arrive." He put on a false air of arrogance at that.

"Oh, who?" Hugh asked.

"Quinn and Rashel." Harry laughed. "They're becoming permanent fixtures to my back."

Hugh laughed again before saying his farewells. Harry wished him the same back before hanging up and laying back on the bed. He held the phone over his face and hit the number to speed dial Thierry and convince him to book Harry, Quinn and Rashel on a flight to San Francisco.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next night**

Rashel and Quinn flanked him as they walked off of the plane and whilst Rashel had her specialist sword in an art tube on her back Harry wasn't armed though he knew so many different ways to kill a person without a weapon it was ridiculous. The airport was busy even though it was close to midnight and their eyes flickered around, taking in faces amongst the crowd. They all spotted a Vampire on the other side of the airport but he didn't seem to notice him though Quinn split off to walk a few metres away so that it wasn't so obvious that he was walking around with two humans.

Harry had spent the afternoon convincing Cameron, Jez and Nicky that he'd be alright for the weekend and he knew that his two human friends were going to be watched for the weekend while he was gone just in case. He'd called Hugh from the plane just before landing and been given a hotel address and they got a taxi together just outside the airport.

"I really need to get my sword." Harry huffed, eyeing Rashel's hidden sword. "Although I suppose it's metal so I wouldn't be able to get it onto a plane."

"You could get a witch to cloak the metal so it isn't picked up by x-ray or metal detectors." Quinn told him. "I could just glamour them though sometimes there's too many witnesses for that."

"Where is your sword?" Rashel asked quietly so that the driver couldn't hear them.

"No idea." Harry shrugged. "Haven't seen it since World War Two."

"Liam?" Rashel asked. She was fascinated with that time of Harry's past because Liam was like Rashel in being a Hunter. There were others that were like Rashel but none as recent as that."

"It took me five months to track that sword down when I was Liam." Harry crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who's was it before Liam got it?" Quinn asked.

"Mine." Harry laughed. "And mine before that too. It's a rather old and valuable sword. I normally find it in some museum or private collection somewhere."

"Who's was it originally?" Quinn corrected himself.

"Imazato's." Harry said simply. "It was made for him by the Emperor of Japan to protect him. Calamy tracked it down when he was hunting for Hannah and found it in Japan on display in the Imperial Palace. Oliver then used it not too long after Calamy and found it in a French Count's library and then Liam tracked it down after it ended up in the British Museum and was put into safe storage during the war."

"Where do you think it would be now?" Rashel asked as they drove through the city.

"Well the last time I saw it I was in a sewer and I'd just stabbed a bear shapeshifter through the heart with it." Harry shrugged and then winced at the reminder of Liam's death making Quinn and Rashel frown. He'd forgotten that apart from Cameron most people didn't know many of the ways he'd died. Rashel and Quinn now knew he'd been killed in the sewers in London. "Assuming it was found it would have either been put in a private collection or ended up in a Museum or something. It's not exactly subtle and any scholar would realise it was made on order by the Emperor of Japan for a Samurai."

"It must be fifteen hundred years old." Quinn pointed out. "I'm surprised you could still use it in English occupied France let alone now, almost eight hundred years later. Not to mention a metal sword is only good for killing Witches, humans and Shapeshifters."

"Oh? Only those three then, Quinn?" Rashel teased and Quinn narrowed his eyes before laughing.

"It's living metal, Quinn." Harry informed him. "Some of the Samurai swords were enchanted during construction, mixed with wood and magic so that the metal is almost alive. About as alive as Rashel's sword. If I stab a Vampire through the heart with it then the Vampire dies. Trust me, I've done it before."

"You should have someone run a search of Museums for it." Rashel suggested. "After over fifty years it's probably in storage in a Museum in England somewhere. Or possibly back in Japan if they requested it."

"Yeah. Remind me to ask Thierry about that when the shit stops piling up." Harry told her.

"Crude." Quinn pointed out only to get a grin from Harry. The taxi pulled up at the hotel and Quinn paid the taxi driver before they all climbed out and headed inside. They checked in but headed straight for the room that Hugh was staying in. It wasn't anything too fancy, just a place a little closer to what was happening rather than one of the two safe houses just outside of the city.

Hugh opened the door shortly after they knocked and they all slipped inside. Hugh had a suite with a sitting room and wasn't alone. A male witch stood up to greet them. Circle Daybreak wouldn't have Hugh out here on his own even if he wasn't as old as the others and had very little in the way of fighting experience. He'd fallen for a Witch about seventy years ago and they'd been a part of Circle Daybreak back then, a smaller organisation compared to what it was now, but it made him a figure to remember among the current members.

"How are things going?" Harry asked as he hugged Hugh.

"The Council have sent people here to..." Hugh paused. "Speed up the efforts as it were. But we have Morgead's assistance. He and Jez are Soulmates."

Harry leaned over so that Quinn couldn't hear him. "I'm sorry, Hugh. I know she meant a lot to you."

"I can't compete with a Soulmate even if she'd let herself like me. I'm an Old Soul. She always kept her distance because of that." Hugh sighed and sat back. Harry squeezed his shoulder before sitting back as well. "She and her gang are working on it. She's due to report in tomorrow with any news."

Harry nodded. "We've got a suite across the hall. If you need anything its room 317. We'll meet you in here in the morning unless you hear something." Hugh nodded and stood up to see them out.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Oliver tightened his well practiced grip on his sword as the four Vampires circled him. One laughed at the metal weapon believing that it wouldn't do anything to them but sting a little. Oliver focused out away from the Vampires and could here banging on the front door to the manor he'd hidden himself away in so that the Vampires didn't even know where he lived._

_"I'm a little thirsty." The Vampire that had laughed at him shifted his stand to close in on him. "I claim his blood."_

_One of the other Vampires shook his head. "Answers out of him first, Oaker. His horde is more valuable than his life. There's plenty of humans out there you can feed off of."_

_Oaker glanced at the other Vampire and Oliver made his strike. His sword flashed out to his right as he twisted his body and the sword sliced deep through flesh and bone. The Vampire 'leader's' head rolled across the floor even as it dried up. Oaker growled at him and launched himself across the room and Oliver shifted his weight and impaled Oaker through the chest with the sword. It went straight through his heart and his body fell backwards onto the wooden floorboards even as Oliver twisted towards his last two opponents._

_A scream made the two Vampires look towards the window. More screams joined in. Human screams and wicked laughter. The Vampires looked smug and began to circle him. "Can't run little human. We'll get what we want from you."_

_The Vampire blurred as he streaked right at Oliver who couldn't move fast enough. He'd made a mistake. The now headless Vampire hadn't been the oldest, this one was. Unmatchable force slammed into his chest and he flew backwards and hit the wall. He caught himself in a crouch as he tried to breath but he was completely winded. He tightened his grip on his sword as he looked up at the approaching Vampires._

_And at that moment he realised that he would dodge fate no more. His crimes would now catch up to him. His atrocities would end now with his own life. He twisted the blade and before the Vampires could realise what he was going to do he plunged the sword straight between two of his ribs and through his heart. He barely had a chance to hope he wouldn't find himself waking up again before he collapsed onto his side, holding the blade's handle._

Harry screamed as he threw himself up and only just managed to stop his wings from bursting out. He found himself looking up in the dark at Quinn standing at the end of his bed but that only made him tumble out of bed and reach for the wooden pencil that was on a notepad by his room telephone. He pressed his back to the wall as he panicked only being able to picture what Oliver had just done in his dream. Backed up to a wall by Vampires with his only way out being his own blade.

Quinn obviously saw that he wasn't helping and walked slowly backwards out of the room and a few moment later Rashel rushed in and saw Harry up against the wall. She headed closer and slowly Harry let his arm dropped down to his side and he let go of the pencil. He slid down the wall to sit on the ground and a few seconds later the bed's comforter was being draped over him as he shivered. Rashel sat next to him for a while but Harry's didn't know her well enough to let down his guard and she seemed to realise that.

Somebody entered the room and Harry looked up with teary eyes to see Hugh pulling a jumper over his head. Rashel stood up gracefully and slipped out of the room, shutting the door in the process. Hugh sat next to Harry but didn't seem to know what to say. But Hugh at least knew what it felt like to have nightmares like that and actually know that they'd been real even if you'd died in them.

Harry leaned sideways and put his head on Hugh's shoulder. Hugh put his arm around him. "Come on, Harry. Let's get you back on the bed." Hugh told him and stood up, pulling Harry up with him and leading him back to the bed. He sat with his back to the headboard and Hugh sat next to him, copying their previous positions except he handed Harry his cell phone. "Call Cameron, Harry. He's the only one that can help you right now."

Harry barely registered hitting the speed dial for Cameron's cell phone until he heard Cameron grumbling into the phone as he answered it and then clearly spotted the ID. "Harry?" He sounded more awake suddenly. "Harry? What's the matter."

Hugh wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and Harry settled down against him. Hugh and he had never really had much in the way of heart to hearts but Hugh did understand the situation better than most. "Cam..." Harry muttered out painfully.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Cameron sounded desperate all of a sudden.

"I'm in my hotel room. Safe." Harry told him quickly to reassure him.

"You had a nightmare didn't you." Cameron stated more than asked. "A really bad one."

"Yeah." Harry hung his head. "Hugh's here with me. I woke Quinn up by screaming but then I just freaked out because it's him."

"Did you dream about Alexis?" Cameron asked.

"Not Alexis." Harry shook his head. "I was Oliver, trapped by Vampires. Cam, I can still feel my own sword in my chest!" Harry let himself cry even as he felt Hugh's shock at his announcement. "I just killed myself, Cam. It's horrible."

"It's just a nightmare, Harry. You already remembered that part of your life." Cameron told him.

"I know." Harry shuddered. "I miss you, Cam. I need you."

"I know. I'll ask Thierry to make up some reason to request me in Las Vegas as soon as I can." Cameron promised. "I'll be there with you as soon as I can get away from here without it looking suspicious."

"I love you, Cam." Harry told him.

"I love you too, Harry." Harry barely heard the reply as he drifted back to sleep only vaguely aware when Cameron called to him and Hugh took the phone out of his hand.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next morning**

Harry was nibbling on bread as he tried not to listen to the conversation that Hugh was having on his phone. Rashel sat next to him and Harry was trying to ignore the fact that Quinn was feeding from her wrist rather than go out to hunt. It made him feel ill and he pondered whether Jez fed Tamarack at times and why he hadn't thought to talk to his friend about it. He did feel very bad about himself when he thought of Nicky and Jez, they'd been dragged into this and he'd tried to spend as much time with them as possible but sometimes it was difficult. Them being as good as they were meant that they didn't really blame him for his inattention but that didn't make him feel much better.

Hugh grabbed a piece of buttered toast as he hung up. "Jez believes that her cousin could be the Wild Power. The evidence fits."

"She's the same age as Jez?" Harry asked but didn't give away that he had his own ideas of who the Wild Power could be. His mind let him think about things in rather different ways to others.

"A month older." Hugh nodded. "She was sitting with Jez when they watched the apartment building fire and according to Jez she drew her own blood just as the fire went out. Assuming twenty miles isn't going to stop the Power's effectiveness then it's a good bet."

"Where are you meeting her?"

"Claire's trying to follow her now so she'll take her to the BART station. We can meet them there." Hugh informed them. "We should go now or they'll have to wait around."

"We'll take the train out to the safe house." Harry decided. "Call them and have them pick us up at the station."

Harry rose and glanced at Quinn and Rashel who stood with him. "We're here to protect you, Harry." Quinn pointed out. "We'll fight if we have to but if it looks like you're in danger than you come first."

"Just keep an eye on them all." Harry decided.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Twenty minutes later**

Harry eyed the running crowds as Quinn and Rashel flanked him. Hugh shook his head and started limping his way up through the crowds towards the platform. Harry followed quickly behind and in a few seconds Quinn was shoving a gap in the crowds and up onto the platform. Harry took in the scene even as it froze at the barest of thoughts. Two werewolves, half shifted, crouched low to the ground, one recovering from being thrown but the main threat was the Vampire squaring off to a girl possibly just slightly younger than Harry. Harry's memories suggested that she was a Vampire but she was missing some of the emphases. Probably Jez Redfern then.

A human girl cowered behind her in fear and was probably Claire. Time resumed and the Werewolves leapt up to their feet. Hugh yelled, brandishing the cane he used to help his permanent limp and Jez glanced at them as did the Vampire and Werewolves. The Werewolves leapt at Hugh and Harry stepped in front of him even as Rashel and Quinn leapt into the fight.

Harry kept a hand around Hugh's upper arm to keep an eye on him and Rashel struggled to face off with the wolf while Quinn took his apart. The Vampire eyed the changed advantage but he didn't answer to himself. He turned and struck at Jez who made a rather ungraceful move as she made to dodge only to remember that Claire was right behind her. Claire grabbed at Jez and upset her balance, sending both girls off of the edge of the platform and down onto the tracks, just missing the power rail.

Quinn finally killed his wolf and turned to help Rashel who was wrestling with the jaws of her own. The Vampire sneered down at the two girls even as the situation changed. A BART train rounded the corner on squealing wheels but it was going too fast to brake. It froze in its tracks but the girls would be impossible for him to move as long as they were all in the moment. Harry sighed and twisted his body even as time unlocked and Hugh cried out. Harry twisted them so that Hugh wouldn't see it happen but before the instant came there was a massive flash of blue light and the sound of the screeching as the train just stopped.

Hugh shuddered and Harry let him go to stare in shock at the now stationary train, it's pointed nose twisted by the blue fire that had halted it. The Vampire stared in shock at the two girls before turning to leave. The scene froze as Harry finally decided on something he could do. He crossed the platform and drew out the sharpened wooden knife that Quinn had given him that morning and even as time unfroze the Vampire staggered as Harry slammed the blade into his heart putting his entire weight behind it.

"I know. Really sucks. I was all the way over there. The pathetic human." Harry snarked. "Go rot somewhere." He pulled out the blade as the Vampire's skin hardened and he fell onto his back. Harry eyed the blade in distaste before turning. The werewolf that Quinn and Rashel were fighting turned tail and ran and the two quickly moved to cover the exits.

"You must be Jez Redfern then?" Harry asked down towards the tracks in the sudden quiet of the platform. Apart from a few people on the train the place was deserted.

"Jez!" Hugh shouted as he ran to his side. "Are you alright?"

"A hand please?" Jez asked as she lifted her cousin to her feet. Hugh reached down for Jez's hand and helped her up even as Harry lightly dropped down to the tracks with a smile at Claire.

"Hello, miss." Harry smiled. "Would you like a hand up?"

Claire looked at him like he was going to grow another head and Harry didn't really blame her. He still interlaced his fingers and gave her a boost up where Jez caught her and lifted her up. Harry forewent Jez's assistance and scrambled up.

"I don't know you." Jez frowned. "Are you a friend of Hugh's?"

"He's my boss." Hugh told her.

"I am not!" Harry frowned but it was then that Jez noticed the depth in his eyes. A depth only the really ancient like Hugh and Thierry had.

"Another Old Soul?" Jez gasped.

"Let's just say I'm taking a vested interest in the situation." Harry said simply. "Do you have transportation?"

"My bike is outside." Jez nodded. "And Claire's car."

Harry nodded. "Take her somewhere safe while we get this all cleaned up."

She nodded and turned to the entrance just in time for them all to see Quinn hauling over another Vampire. One with dark hair. Quinn forced him still with a hiss. "And you are?" Harry asked.

The Vampire hissed at him before glaring at Jez. "Humans, Jez? What are you doing?"

"The one holding you isn't human." Harry commented.

"We're from Circle Daybreak." Hugh said. "We're trying to help."

"Fuck you." The Vampire spat.

"Morgead..." Jez started.

Morgead struggled. "The Vampire holding you is Quinn. Stop fighting him or he'll take off your head." Harry said bluntly and watched as the young Vampire stilled in pure self preservation. Quinn gave Harry a withering look because Harry had abused his reputation once again. Harry turned to Jez. "Do you trust him, Miss Redfern?"

Jez frowned at him and Hugh came to his rescue. "What Harry says goes, Jez." Hugh informed her. "Not even the Crone of the Witches argues with him. Not even Lord Thierry."

That little slip made Morgead even more tense although it was becoming increasing popular in rumours that Thierry would side with Circle Daybreak in the coming war. Most people didn't realise that it was Thierry that had helped found that Circle in the first place.

"I trust him." Jez told him. "He's not exactly favourable of humans but..."

Harry rubbed his head and crossed to Morgead and crouched down. "You still plan to give up the Wild Power to the Night World Council or can we convince you to save your own life by doing the right thing?"

"Oh? Am I supposed to fear you more than the Council?" Morgead hissed, ignoring Quinn's iron grip on his shoulder.

"I'm about twenty thousand years older than the Night World Council." Harry laughed. "Take your pick."

"Morgead, just come with me. I'll explain everything to you." Jez promised and Morgead looked down as Harry stood up. Finally the Vampire nodded and Harry nodded to Quinn to let him go.

"Jez, take them and go." Hugh nodded. "Call me when you find somewhere to lay low and we'll sort out protection for you all."

"The gang?" Jez asked looking at Hugh. Morgead's head snapped up and Harry saw desperation there. "If they're after us then they might hurt them."

"As long as they don't fight us then Circle Daybreak will protect them." Harry said to put an end to the conversation. "Now get out of here."

Hugh nodded his agreement and Jez tugged her cousin towards the stairs down to the road. Morgead didn't look happy with this turn of events but followed quickly. "Quinn, follow them until they're on their way." Harry requested. Quinn nodded and blurred as he followed them away.

"So?" Harry asked with a sigh. "How do we explain away a smashed up train and two dead bodies?"

"At least Claire is safe." Hugh pointed out.

"You don't still think that the Wild Power is Claire do you, Hugh?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What!?" Hugh gasped and rounded on him.

"Jez is the Wild Power, Hugh." Harry shrugged. "I knew that before I got here yesterday."

"Harry!" Hugh whacked him on the shoulder. "Why?... Oh forget it."

"Why didn't I tell you?" Harry shrugged. "And for the record it's actually rather obvious. Nobody would have thought of it with just the clue but she's half and half. Half in the Night World and half in the human world. Two eyes watching. The sun and the moon."

"You didn't tell _any_one did you." Hugh accused rather than asked.

Harry shrugged again. "I had a slight advantage. Nobody really refers to the sun and the moon as eyes anymore. That concept disappeared around the time people realised the world was round. Well when humans and Night World people realised. My first Tribe always knew that."

"Harry?" Hugh sighed. "Just shut up a minute while I think?" Harry grinned but obediently kept his mouth shut. "What do we do now?"

"You keep your mouth closed about Jez." Harry told him simply. "The more people that think that Claire is the Old Soul the better. It'll take the suspicion off of Jez."

"And make Claire the target!" Hugh rounded on him.

"I don't much like painting a target on her back but it's better placed there than on Jez. Claire doesn't deserve to die but we can't allow harm to come to Jez. Not at the cost of the world." Harry sighed. "This is war, Hugh. I know you're not used to that but I am."

"I still don't like it."

"And you can blame me if Claire is killed." Harry shrugged. "Hell, I've got enough blood on my hands already. A little more isn't going to damn me any more than I already am."

Hugh stared at him in horror but it was distress for Harry and not against him. He was saved from finding something to say when Quinn reappeared with a frown on his face. "We've got a problem." Quinn told him without preamble. He had a nasty gash on the side of his face. "They were ambushed in the car park and put in the back of a truck. I couldn't get free of the assailants before they were gone."

Harry frowned and swore in French which was simply the first swear word to come to mind and Hugo swore in English. Harry moved closer and looked the Vampire's gash over. "You'll be alright?" He asked the Vampire.

"I'll be fine, Harry." Quinn nodded. "You don't need to worry about me. You of all people."

"Of all people?" Hugo muttered to him as Rashel approached.

"I killed him." Quinn stated simply and turned to let Rashel wipe at the gash. Hugh went pale and stared at Harry in shock.

"It's in the past." Harry told him simply before grabbing his phone and calling Thierry who picked up quickly. Harry ran through the situation and Thierry told them to get out to the safe house while he called in as much help as he could, for the cleanup and the search.

"Let's get out of here." Harry told them all. "The safe house, Hugh."

"Come on." Hugh limped away and Harry, Rashel and Quinn followed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Four hours later**

Harry walked into one of the bedrooms of the mansion on the outskirts of San Francisco. It had nice views and belonged to a couple of the older members of Circle Daybreak and was thus used to house part of the organisation. They'd driven out to it after Jez, Claire and Morgead had been abducted and organised the search for the van that had taken them. Only forty minutes later their helicopter had picked up a massive explosion in a suburb by the bay. They'd reported it as a bright blue flash that destroyed the entire house and when they arrived they'd spotted three bodies amongst the carnage. The house's foundations hadn't been damaged but everything above a foot had just been wiped out.

The guys here assumed that Claire had unleashed her power again but Harry had used his own leverage to have them leave the human girl alone and contact her family to get them out here and safe. They were now downstairs, guarded but left alone. This bedroom was the current residence of a still sleeping Jez Redfern and her Soulmate Morgead. Said Vampire looked at him and glared like he had been doing for hours to anyone that came inside.

"You don't really scare me, Mr. Blackthorn." Harry told him as he crossed to sit by the window. Morgead was on the far side of the bed with Jez's hand in his own. "Vampires have been attacking me for millennia. Hell, I was there when Maya first decided that being a Witch wasn't good enough for her. For that matter I've _faced_ Maya in battle. Crossed swords with her more times than I'd like to go into."

"I'll still tear you apart if you hurt her." Morgead snarled.

"Fair enough." Harry shrugged. "Claire has attempted to tell us what happened but to be honest she might as well be talking in Dutch." Harry blinked knowing that he could understand Dutch easily enough and that wouldn't have been a barrier.

"Why aren't they interrogating me then?" Morgead asked.

"Because I told them not to." Harry shrugged. "By matter of my age I have quite a bit of leverage over them and they'll take my orders as long as they're sensible."

"Are you here to interrogate me then?" Morgead pressed.

"No." Harry shook his head. "I _would_ however still like to know what happened."

"That's the same as interrogating me." He pointed out.

"Except that if you don't wish to tell me anything then I will leave and return after Miss. Redfern has woken up and you have had the chance to talk with her about this all." Harry explained. "I only wish to give you the opportunity to explain things now so that your time with her after she recovers is not interrupted."

"If I tell you that I want to stay with Jez no matter what she decides what will you do?" Morgead asked. "Are you going to force us to fight or something?"

"You will be given your own choice however the nature of what Miss. Redfern is means that we have to protect her." Harry shook his head. "You will not be allowed to leave alone but you will be allowed to leave if that is what you want. Our people will follow you and protect you but I'd rather we were able to work together."

"You know what Jez did?" Morgead asked.

"I know she stopped a train right in front of my eyes. I know that she obliterated a house and your assailants." Harry offered up. "I have allowed this organisation to carry on in the belief that Claire is the Wild Power because I wish to give you two a chance to discuss it first. I understand having your fate taken out of your own control. I wish to give you as many choices as possible."

"I'm not used to being grateful to humans." Morgead frowned. Harry laughed but sat back in silence as Morgead stared down at Jez. "I didn't know she was half and half. She just vanished all of a sudden."

"You cared about her even back then didn't you?" Harry asked. "You grew up together and helped one another survive."

"Yeah." Morgead nodded. "We just competed all the time and riled each other up. When she left though... it was like she'd ripped my heart out of my chest and taken it with her. I could barely function without her. I grew angry at her for abandoning me. When she came back I wanted to hurt her but I couldn't. I just couldn't..."

"I can understand that." Harry nodded.

"She's my Soulmate." Morgead told him and choked on the word. "Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

"I met my Soulmate back in June this year. I was just an ordinary human back then but in the last few months I regained hundreds of life times." Harry smiled as Morgead snapped his head up to look at him.

"Who is she?" He asked.

"He." Harry corrected with a shrug. "He is a Shapeshifter."

"So you get it." Morgead nodded. "You won't stop me being with her and protecting her. You won't try to force me to let her leave by herself."

"No." Harry shook his head. "And Circle Daybreak won't try either."

"It was Lily Redfern." Morgead told him making Harry flinch. "Do you know her?"

"I was a slave on a Night World Conclave once. She was there with her father, Hunter." Harry shrugged. "We never really spent any time near each other."

"She was sent by Hunter Redfern to sort things out after I didn't deliver. I was betrayed. One of my own gang was working with them." Morgead looked stricken by that. "They tortured Jez to get her to tell them who the Wild Power was. I thought she was protecting her cousin but it was her all along. They put a spike in her chest. There was so much blood and then everything just went up in blue fire. We all healed but I was so exhausted. I barely made it to her."

"What do you want to do, Mr. Blackthorn?" Harry asked.

"I need to talk to Jez first." Morgead told him.

Harry stood up and moved towards the door. He turned back on the threshold. "Do you need to feed today?"

"I'll be okay until tomorrow." Morgead told him.

"There's a guard just outside the door. Tell him when you and Miss. Redfern want to talk to me again about your decisions." Harry told him.

"Are we safe here?"

"She obliterated everyone that had you in custody." Harry laughed. "No one is able to track you to this place."

Morgead nodded and turned back to stare at the human-vampire in the bed. Harry slipped out of the room to call Thierry and Cameron.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Three hours later**

"Lord Harry." A female witch caught his attention as he sat in the library with a book in his lap. Rashel was sitting across from him reading her own book in way of completing her duty to protect him. "Our guests are requesting to see you."

Harry nodded and closed the book and set it down on a nearby coffee table. "Could you have some food sent up for Miss. Redfern?" Harry requested. The woman nodded.

"Do you need me to come up?" Rashel asked.

"Not really." Harry smirked. "I'm sure you'll hear me from the corridor where you'll be lurking regardless though."

She smirked back. "Might take this with me though."

Harry and Rashel walked upstairs but Rashel stayed outside with the Vampire guard as Harry knocked and entered. Morgead was lying in the bed with Jez, slightly higher up with his arm over her pillow. He head rested on his shoulder. Harry smiled at them.

"Perhaps more formal introductions are in order?" Harry asked. Jez just nodded.

"My name is Harry Potter. Human. Old Soul. And Lord as far as Circle Daybreak is concerned." Harry moved to the end of her bed. "If the Night World knew of me however then I would be on their hit list. As would my Shapeshifter Soulmate."

"Hugh told me about you." Jez nodded. "You're supposed to be the oldest of the Old Souls. Almost as old as Lord Thierry."

"I'm half again as old as Thierry." Harry laughed. "Although when I grew up with him as humans he _was_ slightly older than me."

"What do you want with me?" Jez asked.

Harry motioned to the end of the bed on the opposite side to Morgead. "Do you mind if I sit?" Jez shrugged. Harry sat down, folding one leg in front of him so he could face her comfortably.

"You agreed to risk death by rejoining your old gang." Harry started. "Not only that but you suffered through reuniting yourself with the one person in your life that never betrayed you." Jez looked at Morgead. "You did that because you knew that Circle Daybreak and the entire world needed the Wild Powers to protect the world when whatever happens this time around happens. Trust me, as someone who has witnessed all three of the previously known events I can assure you we need them."

"What's your point?" Morgead asked.

"You know how important you are to us." Harry focused on Jez who nodded. "But do you realise who you are the most important to?" Jez just frowned at him at his weird question. Harry glanced at Morgead. "Your Soulmate."

"True." Morgead piped in and Jez looked at him and moved slightly closer to him on the bed.

"At no point in the future will I ever ask you and him to separate. Where you go he would go." Harry promised. "I might not be able to promise that from the other leaders just yet but I'm older than the lot of them so they can shove it if they don't listen to me." Jez laughed and Morgead smiled. "Right now you need to have a life, enjoy your new found relationship. Trust me I know. I only met my Soulmate a few months ago and I haven't seen him in over a week and it's almost physically painful."

"So what do you want?" Morgead asked.

"Your friendship." Harry told them simply. "Miss Redfern, I know you're already a part of Circle Daybreak. I know you've had people to answer to before, like Hugh, but none of that matters now. What you are right now is Mr Blackthorn's Soulmate and I don't expect anything else from you right now. Let us protect the two of you and your gang. Let yourself get to know us again and let us get to know you."

"Where would we go?" Jez asked. "Stay here? Risk my family?"

"You want to leave them behind?" Harry asked.

"Claire was almost killed because of me." Jez sighed. "As long as I'm around them they are at risk. They need to be moved somewhere safer, witness protection or something."

"I can have them moved somewhere else by morning." Harry promised her. "We can have their finances and belongings moved to them."

"And where do we go?" Jez pressed.

"Lord Thierry wishes you to come to his manor in Las Vegas." Harry told them. "To meet with him and so that you can be best protected."

"Vegas!?" Morgead gasped. "Right in the middle of the Night World and that's where you want to take us? Are you insane?"

"Thierry's manor is the safest place in the world, not to mention close to where I am." Harry told her.

"You're just a human." Morgead pointed out.

"Hey! I'm half human you prat!" Jez slapped him on the leg and Morgead just looked at her and rolled his eyes.

"His point does stand." Harry shrugged. "But in this war that is coming it will end up being my fate to protect you from harm."

"Why?" Jez asked.

"There's a prophecy that led us to you, Miss Redfern. You heard it from Hugh." Harry pointed out. "There are prophecies about me too."

Jez and Morgead shared a look before Jez settled her head back onto his shoulder. "What do you want to do?" Harry asked.

"We'll come with you." Morgead nodded. "Our gang too."

Harry stood and nodded before offering his hand to them both. They shook his hand before Harry turned for the door. "Food should be up soon for Miss. Redfern. I'll send up your gang too if you'd like." They nodded. "We'll be leaving early in the morning for Vegas. Will you require blood from someone, Mr. Blackthorn?"

"He can feed from me." Jez announced. "For the time being."

Harry nodded as Morgead looked at her in shock. He left to let them talk in private about Jez becoming more Vampire again and headed to his own room to call Thierry and Cameron again. After watching the two of them together he really missed Cameron.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	8. A Hawk's Wings

Temporal Illusion

Chapter 8; A Hawk's Wings

Harry watched as Rashel and Quinn warily looked around them all. They'd arrived at Las Vegas International in all good time along with Jez Redfern and Morgead Blackthorn and their remaining gang. Jez was back to being a full time Vampire by the looks of her even though Harry hadn't raised the issue with her. Harry and Rashel were seriously outnumbered by the vampires but they were all fighters and it seemed that they'd decided that Harry was someone that needed their protection.

"I still don't understand." Quinn frowned as Harry put his foot on his own holdall before Morgead could throw it into the back of the hire car with Jez' and the gangs'. "What are you planning?"

Harry laughed before passing Morgead an envelope. "Open that once you're in the car and do exactly what it says." Harry ordered him. Morgead frowned but glanced at Jez who shrugged. "Quinn and Rashel are going to drive with me. I figured you'd want your gang to yourself after all this time."

"We can't protect..." Quinn started.

"Your job is to protect me. Not Jez Redfern." Harry pointed out simply.

"Harry..." Quinn frowned. "What are you planning?"

Harry smirked and picked up his holdall. "Don't worry so much, Quinn. You'll start looking as old as you really are."

"And when do you get to look _your_ age?" Quinn sniped back. Harry ducked into the back of the car and watched out of the window as Jez tugged Morgead into the front of the other car and their gang piled in with them. Harry leaned back in the seat as Rashel and Quinn slipped into his own car's front seat.

"_Do_ you know what you're doing?" Rashel asked. Harry just laughed even as they pulled out and Morgead pulled out behind them.

They were just crossing the strip when Quinn swore and craned his head around. Harry glanced behind them even as Quinn looked for a place to turn the car around in the busy street. Harry reached between Rashel and Quinn and put his hand on Quinn's. "Just keep driving, Quinn."

"They turned off from the route. They're supposed to follow us." Quinn snapped.

"I promised Morgead that I'd protect his soulmate. This is the best way to do it." Harry told him gently. "Besides it's all just an act for the Night World."

"Oh dear, they lost their wild power." Rashel muttered almost to herself. "Take the pressure off."

"Exactly." Harry shrugged. "And makes them harder to track down. Just trust me, okay?"

"Fine." Quinn grumbled. "But I'm telling Cameron on you."

Harry laughed happily and sat back in his chair with a smile on his face. Cameron was waiting for him at Thierry's mansion and he couldn't wait to see him. "Not a word to anyone else." He warned and let his eyes shut as he savoured the sensation of knowing that he was going to see Cameron soon. Seeing Cameron meant so many different things to him, all complex and all coming from different lives that he'd lived. Cameron meant something slightly different to each of his past lives. To Harry in this lifetime though he meant family and unconditional love. Something that had been in rather short supply before.

They pulled up to Thierry's mansion almost twenty minutes after crossing the strip and Quinn got out of the car looking rather glum though he didn't glare at Harry knowing what sort of effect that had on him sometimes. Thierry appeared in the open mansion doors with a frown set on his face and Harry took in his perfect appearance and his looks that came from an age long gone. He was an ageless being stuck in the body of a seventeen year old. Already Harry's body was older looking than his.

"Ryn..." Thierry muttered before looking around and reaching out a hand in a vague desire for Harry to follow him. Thierry slipped back inside and Harry followed him in while Quinn and Rashel worried about the car and their bags. Thierry turned on him as soon as they were inside but Harry took a moment to look around at the other people that had followed Thierry out into the foyer. Members of Circle Daybreak, old souls, vampires, witches and werewolves that had all been in the Circle far longer than Harry. "What happened? I thought you were bringing them here?"

"Sorry." Harry shrugged. "They gave us the slip after we left the airport. Turned into the traffic on the Strip and they were gone before we realised."

"You lost the Wild Power!" Harry's eyes turned to take in the Vampire that had spoken. Raven Fairgold. He was about six hundred years old or so and was rather up himself in Harry's opinion. There was always one in a crowd.

"We need to send people out to track them down." Thierry stated calmly. "You'd better come explain yourself, Ryn."

"Thierry..." Harry warned as he moved closer to his brother. There was only an inch between them when Harry turned his head to talk into his ear. "Explain myself, brother?" He whispered calmly. "Remember I'm helping here because I love you, not because anyone is giving me orders. I don't have to do a damn thing anyone tells me to."

Thierry froze up even as people began whispering amongst themselves and he didn't move until Harry took a small step backwards. "Ryn, we needed that Wild Power. We need all four."

"Then we need to worry about finding the others." Harry stated simply.

"We'll convene in two hours after lunch." Thierry announced loudly to their audience. "We must decide what we must do next. But keep this to ourselves, we can't afford the Night World Council to find out we've lost the one that we had."

Harry waited patiently as the foyer cleared and then turned to Thierry. "Where is Cameron?" He asked. Thierry spun on him with an impatient look on his face but it softened as he took in the desperate tone underlying Harry's calm words.

"He's on the south balcony keeping out of the way." Thierry sighed as he deflated.

"Come, little brother." Harry whispered and took Thierry's hand and led him out of the foyer and deeper into the mansion. They were perhaps half way there when Thierry suddenly tugged Harry around. The world blurred at speed before freezing. Harry doubled over as nausea hit him. Moving and then freezing like that on instinct took it out of him. Thierry had tugged him into the main library. Harry extracted himself from Thierry's gentle grip and slumped down into one of the soft armchairs. He got comfortable before he let time flow back to normal. Thierry appeared in the middle of the library looking confused and then spun on Harry with a glare. "Don't take me by surprise like that then." Harry argued.

"You planned this!" Thierry ignored Harry's sarcasm and narrowed his eyes instead as he hissed through his teeth. Harry raised a hand and Thierry moved towards him and sat on the arm of the chair. Harry twisted and leaned into his side with a sigh.

"Of course I planned this, Thierry." Harry whispered quietly. "But right now only they and I know where they are and that'll keep them alive. We have them and as of right now our enemy is underestimating us."

"So is all of our own Circle." Thierry sighed before slumping down next to Harry in the arm chair. "You never used to be this devious."

"I've learnt a little bit since we were kids together." Harry laughed and merely leaned closer into his brother's warm side.

"Are you going to tell me where they are?" Thierry asked. Harry laughed and turned to look straight into Thierry's eyes so that Thierry got the hint. Harry instantly felt something warm and comforting flow into his mind and he focused his own effort onto separating the location out from any of the others memories in his mind so that Thierry didn't have to live in Harry's nightmares. It was far easier to do now that he'd accepted all of his lives.

"Interesting idea." Thierry nodded.

"I'm thinking Cameron and I should take some time away together. I've missed him." Harry told his brother. "Tamarack, Jez and Nicky can come too so that Tamarack can be our protection if you have to worry about that. Ash could do with some time off too I think."

"And you want to vouch for him." Thierry chuckled. "I'm not sure he's ready to face her again."

"I've talked to him so many times about her. I can feel his heart bleeding over it. It's time they dealt with each other." Harry told him resolutely. "Now, where's Cameron?"

Thierry laughed but it wasn't long before Thierry was holding the door that led out onto the balcony open for Harry to proceed him through it. Harry caught sight of Cameron just as the young man turned to look at the door and before Cameron could even say his name Harry was across the room and tucked up against his chest, his face pressed into the side of his neck, savouring Cameron's unique scent and just feeling the solidness of Cameron's body against his own. He realised that his entire body was trembling just slightly but a huge weight lifted from his chest. He'd already known how much he'd missed Cameron but now he realised how much he needed Cameron around.

"Shh..." Cameron whispered into his hair as he tightened his grip around him. Harry let Cameron lift him up slightly and the world spun just a little as Cameron sat himself down in a lounger and set Harry down in his lap. "I'm here, babe."

"Cam..." Harry whispered tucking himself in as closely as he could get away with. He ignored the rest of the world and just focused everything on Cameron's sturdy presence and let everything that he was made of resonate with Cameron's presence.

Before he knew it Cameron was lifting his head and stealing a soft kiss from him. "We should get inside. I think it's going to rain." Cameron told him when they broke from the kiss.

Harry sat up and scooted to the edge of the chair before turning to Cameron with a small smile. "I want to just hide away with you today."

"Not a problem." Cameron smirked and Harry felt himself flush slightly at what Cameron's smirk promised. Cameron stood up and pulled Harry into their bedroom and closed the curtains so nobody could see inside before he crossed to the other side of the room and flipped on the dimed lights and locked the door.

Harry had already pulled off his jacket and shirt before Cameron turned back to him and Cameron shrugged off his own shirt so that when Harry wrapped his arms around him they were skin to skin. Harry felt an overwhelming need and his wings arched out into existence behind him. They stretched until Harry felt the walls and ceiling around him, making the room feel tiny, and then firstly his left wing and then his right wrapped around them, caressing Cameron's naked back and enveloping them in pitch darkness.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Harry lingered at the back of the room. He was seemingly ignoring the rather loud meeting as he stood in an open balcony door with a violin in his hand. His eyes were half shut and his hands moved over the strings as he plucked away at a random tune that came to him as he played. The melody was everything that was Cameron to him but because some of those in the room didn't know about Cameron's real involvement in Circle Daybreak he wasn't present.

Everyone knew that Thierry had taken a public liking to Cameron but that was all in an official capacity and Cameron's father was delighted by the promise of a friendship between his youngest son and the oldest Vampire in existence and was perfectly happy regardless of the fact that the rumours suggested that Thierry was aiding Circle Daybreak. Even with all of that though they couldn't let most know about Harry and Cameron's involvement even if they all knew that Harry was around. As far as most of them knew he was merely an Old Soul that had awakened and found his way to Thierry. Most could only guess at Thierry and Harry's past relationship.

This meeting was being held to try to work out what to do about the missing Wild Power but it really wasn't going to get them anywhere especially since Thierry was only sitting at the end of the room with his hands in his hair while people argued their way through one plan after another.

"Ryn!" Thierry snapped. "Would you _please_ stop that!"

"Don't take it out on me, Thierry." Harry retorted simply from his position just a few feet from Thierry's chair. Thierry was at his side in a split second and his hand closed over Harry's left hand and silenced the violin.

"I can't think." Thierry accused him.

"Nothing new then." Harry smirked before shutting his eyes.

"Don't tempt me into trying your blood, Ryn." Thierry warned though the threat fell flat and they both knew it.

"You really want to find out what inhuman blood will do to you?" Harry spoke too quietly for anyone else to hear before he opened his eyes again and smiled at Thierry.

"We need to send someone to focus on finding her!" One of the Witches demanded behind them. "Harry most likely since he's the one that lost her."

Harry ignored her even though most of the others seemed to agree. Thierry let go of the violin and Harry brought it back up but although he touched the strings he didn't make any music with it. Thierry addressed them though even as he left a hand placed on the small of Harry's back. "Since when did you start thinking you could order Harry to do anything?" Thierry warned dangerously.

"He might be new to this organisation but his goals are the same." The Vampire pointed out. "He also might be old but he's new to the Circle."

"And you think that allows you to give him orders?" Thierry retorted.

Harry twisted and set the violin in its cradle by the piano. "You assume our goals are the same." Harry stated bluntly before slipping through the room. He wanted to go pick up Nicky so they could meet Tamarack and Jez at the airport. Cameron would meet them on the plane along with Ash. It was time to catch up to their wayward Wild Power.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That evening**

Because it was far more private they'd all gotten first class tickets on a smaller airline that serviced the only airport within a hundred miles of their destination. It meant that the three groups who 'didn't' know each other on arrival all actually knew each other. Jez, Tamarack and Nicky travelled together as did Quinn and Rashel and finally Harry, Cameron and Ash were travelling as a group. They struck up conversation together on more than one occasion but ensured that the stewardesses got the impression that they were separate groups.

Harry spent most of his time with his head on Cameron's shoulder and his eyes shut as their minds swirled together. Tamarack and Jez were clearly holding hands the entire trip and by the dazed look in Jez's eyes they were linked too although Tamarack constantly fought the connection to keep an eye on the world around them. Quinn and Rashel avoided holding hands in public because of the distraction and part of Harry felt sorry for them but then remembered that they were both so alike that being fighters wasn't really a bad thing.

They landed in a small airport hub that was used for about a dozen towns in the corner of the desolate state they were visiting and soon they hired three cars and drove off in different directions. They each had their own routes and it wasn't long before they met up and pulled into the town together.

"Turn right here." Ash mumbled unhappily where he was sitting in the back with Harry while Cameron drove. Nobody seemed to trust Harry behind the wheel and besides, he thought Ash needed the company.

"You have no confidence in yourself." Harry pointed out.

"First time we met she kicked me in the shin." Ash complained.

"Technically you were hunting your sisters." Harry laughed.

"Who are also there!" Ash complained. "They're going to kill me."

"You're nicer alive." Harry laughed before popping open his door as the car pulled up into the drive. The other two cars pulled up along the road.

"Harry!" Ash complained and scooted over the seat to follow him out. Cameron killed the engine and followed them out before automatically letting Harry grab his hand and melt into his side. "Are you ever not a pain?"

"I'm sweet and adorable!" Harry argued just as a young woman appeared in the doorway. "Is that...?" He started before shaking his head. "Nope, Vampire."

"Harry!" Tamarack gasped as they caught up. "She _can_ hear you."

"Then she can hear you too." Harry grinned and tugged Cameron up the pathway towards the porch.

"One thing I like about Theirry's house?" Ash asked nobody in particular watching where he was putting his feet. "There's less wood."

"What did wood ever do to you?" Jez asked in amusement getting a light slap from Tamarack.

"Some people have allergies." Ash grumbled. "And this porch attacked me!"

"Bad porch." Harry muttered loud enough for everyone to hear him before stroking the banister as Cameron stopped him a few feet from the young woman. "Hi!" Harry greeted.

"Hi..." She frowned.

"Rowan." Ash greeted. "Where are Kestrel and Jade?"

"Just finishing in the back." Rowan told him.

"And..." Ash swallowed thickly and looked down.

"With them and her brother in the back. Except... well the brother is..." Rowan frowned and looked around, her gaze hitting Quinn and staying there."

"Circumstances have changed dramatically since Quinn and Ash were last here." Harry announced with a more mature tone of voice. "May we come in?"

"I suppose." Rowan nodded. "Probably best for this assembly to be somewhere private."

"True." Harry nodded before walking inside when she stepped out of the way. Cameron followed him and then Ash, Tamarack, Jez, Nicky, Quinn and finally Rashel who shut the door. Rowan led them into a sitting room and Cameron pushed Harry into an armchair and sat on the arm. Harry rolled his eyes at the special treatment. Jez and Nicky sat on the sofa with Tamarack on the arm next to Jez. Quinn, Rashel and Ash stayed standing though Ash gravitated towards Harry for something along the lines of protection. Rowan frowned at the movement but didn't comment.

It wasn't long before two young Vampires tumbled into the room. They both looked to be about sixteen or seventeen but the boy looked a little like a gangly teenager in the way he moved and he tensed up instantly when he spotted the humans on the chairs and moved back towards the door. Three more girls slipped into the room, two Vampires and a human girl of about nineteen. He recognised the human as Mary-Lynette by Ash's descriptions and watched her as she spotted Ash amongst the visitors. Her emotions spiralled for a moment, all clear in her eyes. Surprise, relief, joy, confusion and caution. She was overjoyed to have him close but confused about why he was there and nervous about how to act with him.

"You've brought some interesting people here, Ash." Rowan took the lead.

"Please, there's no need to be cautious around us." Harry spoke up drawing her attention back to him. "Ash has told me all about all of you. Mary-Lynette, you especially."

"And you are?" She asked rather sharply.

"Well Ash you know." Harry glanced at the nervous Vampire in question. "And Quinn. This is Quinn's soulmate, Rashel. Then we have Tamarack and her soulmate Jez. My friend Nicky and finally Cameron."

"Cameron Drache!" Rowan gasped.

"Who?" Mary-Lynette frowned.

"Prince of the Shapeshifters." Rowan frowned and looked at Harry. "And you are what?"

"Very old." Harry snorted.

"Your body is mortal." Rowan shook her head.

"True." Harry nodded. "I'm still older than everyone here combined."

"An Old Soul?" Rowan frowned.

"What's that?" The boy, Mark, asked.

"Very rarely there are human's whose souls are reincarnated through the ages. Sometimes they remember their past lives." Rowan explained to the boy and Mary-Lynette probably too. "You can never assume anything with them. I've never met one before though. Not many have."

"We tend to live somewhere between the human world and the Night World." Harry shrugged. "It's rare to find an Old Soul that hasn't been involved in the Night World at some point in their history so they tend to be aware of it even if they haven't been involved in it in their current life."

"And you?" Mary-Lynette asked. "When did you get involved?"

"In the Night World?" Harry hummed. "At the start I suppose."

"What's that mean?" Mark asked.

"Harry predates the culture we call the Night World." Cameron explained. "Before there were Vampires or Werewolves. He's the oldest..." Harry put a hand on Cameron's knee and he stopped talking.

"I'm the oldest Old Soul that's ever been heard of." Harry finished for him. "And rather a lot older than anything else in the Night World."

"Cool." Mark grinned.

"That doesn't explain why you're here." Rowan pointed out. "Or why you brought Quinn and Ash."

"Actually Quinn has nothing to do with this really." Harry shrugged. "He's my bodyguard."

"The Quinn I know would never guard a human." Rowan frowned. "He'd be killing any that knew about the Night World."

"True." Harry glanced at Quinn's tense face but decided not to out Quinn's history with Alexis. In fact it was the Alexis part of him that made him decide not to joke about it. "But people change."

"It took him over six hundred years." Rowan scoffed.

Harry tensed up and narrowed his eyes at her. "There are worse monsters in this world than Quinn. At least he is trying to atone for his crimes."

"And you know all about the monsters of the world do you?" Mary-Lynette suddenly asked intensely.

"Better than most." Harry shrugged.

"So exactly who are you lot and why are you here?" Rowan asked.

"Ah, well nobody else knows we're here. We're taking a short vacation." Harry grinned. "And Ash needed to deal with some personal issues."

"Harry..." Ash hissed in embarrassment. Harry bowed his head to agree to be silent on that matter. At least until he could talk to the two of them alone.

"Well to put it simply we are sort of part of Circle Daybreak." Harry explained getting shocked looks from the three Lamia. "Well officially only Tamarack, Quinn and Rashel are members."

"Then how..." Rowan started.

"Hang on." May-Lynette interrupted quickly. "What is Circle Daybreak?"

"Hmm..." Harry hummed working out how to explain properly. "You know about the different factions in the Night World?" She nodded and so did Mark. "Well the Witches officially split into two groups, Circle Midnight and Circle Twilight. There really isn't much of a difference between the two. Circle Daybreak was an older circle that used to involve humans too but it was outlawed millennia ago by the Night World Council when they created the two laws."

"Not to tell a human and not to love one?" Mary-Lynette couldn't stop herself from looking at Ash as she spoke.

"Exactly." Harry nodded. "Anyway in more recent centuries some have started Circle Daybreak back up again. It caters to Night World Citizens that don't agree with the laws of the Night World. Officially it still doesn't exist beyond rumours. In more recent years more and more Vampires, Witches, Werewolves and Shapeshifters have been falling in love with humans and the Circle is the only refuge they have."

"Okay, so where do the rest of you come in?" Rowan re-asked her question. "Well Jez is obvious. He's all sappy in love with a Vampire who is part of the Circle."

"Harry!" Jez went bright red and even Tamarack looked embarrassed.

"Cameron and I aren't really part of the Circle." Harry continued. "I am aligned I suppose but I don't answer to them like Tamarack, Quinn or Rashel do."

"Why not?" Kestrel finally demanded.

"Their leader is my brother." Harry told her bluntly. "Or at least he was my clan-brother twenty-odd thousand years ago."

"The rumours are that Lord Thierry is involved in Circle Daybreak." Rowan frowned. "That true and is that who you're talking about?"

Harry nodded. "I grew up with him when he was still a human." He paused before continuing the prolonged introductions. "Cameron and I met in England a short while ago and realised we were soulmates. I awakened my previous lives after meeting him for the first time. A response to his presence I suppose. Both Jez and Nicky are friends of mine from England."

"You brought them into this world?" Rowan sounded shocked.

"Well with Jez he had Tamarack. My getting him involved didn't really add anything." Harry shrugged. "And you have to know Nicky to understand. The chance of Jez and I escaping her clutches is almost laughable to consider."

"Right so you're all part of some secret society of human lovers." Mark teased from his place at the back of the room. "Why are you here in particular?"

"There are dark days coming." Harry sighed. "There are a few extremely gifted individuals that are vital to the continued survival of the world as we understand it. Those individuals are being hunted by the Night World who wouldn't be upset if they were killed in the search. We however, and all of humanity, need them alive, safe and beyond anything else, hidden. We found one of these four individuals in San Francisco recently and without the Circle's knowledge I gave them instructions to disappear and come here."

"We've not noticed anyone." Jade, the youngest of the Lamia, frowned.

"They only left Las Vegas early this morning." Harry smiled. "We flew, they are driving. I imagine they'll arrive tomorrow. I wanted to come early to ensure we were gone before anyone in the Night World Council heard of their disappearance so that we could not conceivably be followed."

"We're not fighters." Rowan frowned. "I mean we could defend ourselves against maybe a single trained fighter but against the Night World Council we wouldn't be able to protect them.

"This individual is capable of accessing her powers." Harry frowned. "And even if she could not she is bringing with her the members of her gang. They are all Vampires, trained how to defend themselves."

"That many Vampires in one place?" Rowan frowned.

"I understand if you have reservations about letting in strangers, Rowan." Harry sighed looking far more like the ancient he was. "Perhaps you can make a decision after you meet them. If you are still nervous about their presence then we can arrange another option. I chose here because I was thinking of Ash at the time. Other suitable places might be found."

Rowan looked around at the others of her family but then just nodded at Harry. "We'll see."

"That's all have the right to ask." Harry nodded before leaning over and dropping a piece of paper onto the table. "We'll be staying out at the motel. If you have need of us then you need only call."

"You're leaving so soon?" Mary-Lynette suddenly asked making Ash jump.

"It's been a long day and as you will most likely understand some of us are only human." Harry grinned and Mary-Lynette laughed. "Perhaps you'd be kind enough to show us to the motel? We need to pick up some supplies and I'm not sure what might still be open at this time."

"Oh, alright. Sure." Mary-Lynette looked surprised.

Harry rose up and nodded to Rowan, Kestrel and Jade. "Ladies. It was a pleasure to meet you. Mark, you too."

Mark grinned happily at being included and Rowan showed them all out. They headed for the cars and Harry offered Mary-Lynette the front seat of their car. "Harry..." Quinn grumbled from just behind him.

"You need to feed, Quinn." Harry countered before he could complain about Harry's blatant plan to ditch his bodyguard again. "I'll meet you and Rashel at the motel. You can even pick our room and search it to your heart's content before I get there. Check for sharp edges and the like."

"Not amusing." Quinn grumbled but nodded and slipped away.

"Quinn!" Harry called after him. "What Rowan said about you..."

"What about it?" Quinn frowned.

"You really have changed you know." Harry smiled at him. "Alexis can't compare you to what you were back then anymore. You don't scare me anymore."

Quinn frowned before a small smile crept onto his face. Harry glanced at the silently watching Rashel who smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you, Alexis." Quinn whispered and slipped back to their car.

Harry slipped into the back seat and smile at Cameron. All three of them had heard the conversation. Cameron pulled them out and once they were on the road Mary-Lynette twisted to look at Harry. "Why did he call you Alexis?"

"I used to go by that name." Harry grinned.

"Why'd you change it?" She frowned.

"I didn't." Harry laughed. "My mother picked my new name."

"Harry, stop playing with her." Ash complained before speaking to Mary-Lynette directly for the first time. "Alexis was born back in the late eighteen hundreds in Boston. Quinn was sent to kill him."

She put on a highly confused look. "Alexis was one of my previous lives." Harry explained and shared a quick look with Cameron. "Quinn killed me. Now I'm Harry."

"Wow." She gasped and locked eyes with Ash for a moment. Harry watched the interaction in silence but eventually had to prompt Mary-Lynette for directions.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That night**

Harry walked out onto the porch of the motel with Cameron behind him. It was a warm enough night that Cameron was just in his jeans with a blanket around him. Harry was dressed the same without the blanket. They walked across to where Ash and Mary-Lynette were sitting together like they had been for the last few hours and the two turned to look at them just as Cameron pulled Harry back into his chest and wrapped the blanket around them both.

"You two talking or fighting?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"Talking." Ash told him sharply.

"Down boy." Harry grinned properly before moving closer. He looked at Mary-Lynette with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry if I seem to have thrown you into this."

"Why did you?" She asked. "Ash and I decided it was for the best if we got our problems sorted out alone first."

"You mean you didn't like how Ash used to act." Harry corrected rather harshly. "You didn't give yourself time to find out everything about Ash. I did."

"He acted like a self-obsessed arrogant prick." She argued.

"I did, Harry." Ash agreed with her even though he'd flushed at what she'd said. And to get a Vampire to flush meant he was really embarrassed.

"You were raised to be a prick, Ash." Harry argued.

"Thanks!" Ash gaped at him in astonishment.

"I've met your grandfather remember?" Harry prompted. "James is lucky. His father didn't care about following the family line."

"James?" Mary-Lynette prompted.

"My cousin." Ash told her quickly.

"Who's your grandfather?" She frowned. "Hunter Redfern?"

"More like my great times a thousand grandfather. I'm not sure anyone really knows how far back. He's the patriarch of the Redfern line. I'm just on the bottom of one of the lines." He sighed.

"So is the girl that's coming here soon. Jezebel." Harry pointed out.

"Is it all really so important?" Mary-Lynette asked.

"Have you told her what is happening?" Harry asked Ash.

"Not yet, I wasn't sure what you wanted her to know." Ash looked down at his lap. "And..." He looked to the side at his Soulmate. "I didn't want her to be scared."

"Mary-Lynette." Harry sighed and leaned back against Cameron when he leaned against the porch pillar nearest to them. The temptation to switch their positions and wrap his wings around them was almost too great to fight. He so desperately wanted his wings open and if it wasn't for Cameron's hold he'd really have to fight to stop it from happening whether he wanted to or not. "My first life was around thirty-thousand years ago." Her eyes shot open wide in surprise but she really still didn't grasp that sort of age. Only another ancient like Thierry or Hunter Redfern could imagine what that sort of lifespan really meant. "There are a few other Soulmates over twenty-thousand years old but only a couple of Vampires are twenty-thousand."

"I think you might get a few grey hairs." Ash teased just like he normally did.

Harry ignored him. "I've been around long enough to have witnessed the patterns. How civilisations rise and fall. The world is a strange thing but it runs in cycles. Approximately every ten thousand years the world..." He paused before deciding on the word. "Reorganises itself. Part of that means that a different kind of being becomes dominant."

"I'm not sure I get it." Mary-Lynette frowned.

"Alright." Harry nodded. "I was first born into a world where Shapeshifters were dominant over the world. They had been for ten thousand years. Nobody really knows what happened before the Shapeshifters ruled. Their leaders were vicious and made themselves Gods over the other Shapeshifters and Humans."

"What happened?" She asked almost eagerly. Ash was enthralled by the conversation as well even though he knew most of it.

"I _think_ the super volcanoes exploded." Harry shrugged and gazed off into the distance as a memory of A'Zia's rose to the fore. It almost seemed like he could feel the heat on his face. Cameron caught a glimpse of the memory across their bond, a massive geyser of fire and molten rock bigger than the state of Texas. "We didn't really understand 'fire mountains' back then but at least we didn't think they were fire gods like the humans did. The other humans I mean." He quickly corrected himself.

"What's a volcano got to do with it?" Mary-Lynette prompted.

"Well, one set off another and then another and so on until basically every volcano on the planet was throwing fire into the air. That's the cycle." Harry explained. "But for the Night World it marked when the Witches and Humans rose up against the Amaru, the Shapeshifters. The entire population was almost completely wiped out but the Witches brought themselves victory."

"So they dominated the next ten thousand years?" She guessed and Harry smiled at her.

"I remember quite a bit of that ten thousand years." Harry nodded. "People lived in caves and small villages in clans. Humans and Witches interacted. There were still shapeshifters around but they stuck together and stayed out of the way of Humanity." A flash of Kinen's life spread through their bond and Cameron gulped when Harry remembered the decision to take his own life with the poison. That only made his mind flicker to Liam's death by his own grenade and Cameron choked and held him tightly.

"Is he alright?" Mary-Lynette frowned.

"Have you allowed the bond to open enough to share thoughts and memories?" Harry asked.

"A few times." Ash told him with an upset look as he realised why Cameron was looking ill.

"Cameron is telepathic anyway so we don't have to be fully emerged in each other to share thoughts, feelings and memories but when he's touching me he can't really stop it." Harry shrugged. "I thought of a couple of my old lives and it's not always pleasant for him."

"It's fine." Cameron denied. Harry twisted his head and engaged Cameron in a kiss to show he knew Cameron was being tough for his sake.

"Anyway." Harry continued. "The Witches dominated for ten thousand years before a Witch called Maya turned herself into the first Vampire. She turned others creating the Vampire race and they fought the humans and witches. That's when the cycle turned again. An Ice Age formed and the Vampires were best able to adapt to the changed climate so they became dominant for that ten thousand years."

"Do you remember that change too?" Mary-Lynette asked.

"I was there." Harry sighed. "I grew up with Maya." Mary-Lynette stared at him in amazement.

"Then the humans right?" Mary-Lynette prompted.

"Exactly." Harry nodded. "Essentially the icecaps melted and the sea-level rose. Most people lived near the coast then and those that managed to escape the change in climate lost everything in the process and as the human population weakened so did the Vampire population. Humans persevered the best because of their technology."

"Technology?" Mary-Lynette laughed. "Back then?"

"Humans created technology as you understand it. Even ten thousand years ago Vampires, Witches and Shapeshifters were just taking technology off of them. Their ability to create technology like weapons gave them an edge and the Night World eventually formed to keep them from discovering them. The Salem Witches trials are an example of when it didn't work and most Night Worlders are scared of that concept."

"Don't ask about them." Cameron whispered. "Please."

Harry made a conscious effort to not picture Lucus' death at the hand of Witches but it was still the Lucus part of him, the child, that embraced Cameron mentally and sent him warm comforting feelings. Cameron shifted slightly and amazingly he held him more like he would a small child. That brought a smile to Harry's lips. Cameron was starting to treat his different personalities different depending on what they were like and he was getting very good at recognising which of Harry's past lives was playing the biggest role.

"So our ten thousand years is up?" She frowned. "What's going to happen to us?"

"We don't really know." Harry shook his head. "They all think that getting these Wild Powers, like Jez Redfern, will stop the cycle from changing like it always has."

"Will it?" Ash and Mary-Lynette were both looking at him shrewdly.

"I doubt it." Harry shrugged. "It doesn't work like that and if it did you'd have to constantly push it back. The Wild Powers will be an instrument to protect. They might not even have to do something, perhaps just be there for people to unite around. Or maybe the search for them itself will be the key."

"The key to what though?" Ash asked. "People keep asking and you always just keep quiet."

"I don't make guesses." Harry shook his head. "All I know is that the cycle will change as I've seen it do three times already and when it has changed the world will be different. What I believe is that should be succeed in finding and protecting these Wild Powers the changed world will be for the better. If we fail then the changed world will be for the worst."

"Then why is anyone fighting you?" Mary-Lynette asked.

"Most of the Night World population is under a hundred years old. Very few are old enough to remember even one of the changes. They believe that because humans are dominant now that they must be dominant the next time." Harry looked down at his lap.

"You feel strongly enough about it to want to fight?" She asked the rather loaded question.

Harry sighed and stood up and Cameron quickly followed him up. "I'm going to keep living lives until there's no parents left to have children. Cameron isn't. I'm not willing to risk losing this one chance I have to be with my Soulmate. I won't do that foolishly."

"How far are you willing to go then?" She frowned.

"I'll find that out when I stop." Harry shrugged and turned to go. He paused and looked back at Ash. "There's nothing saying you can't just stay here.

"There's also nothing saying I can't follow him the other way either." Mary-Lynette declared. Ash flinched at the idea of Mary-Lynette putting herself in such danger but he really didn't have any way to argue with her.

Harry slipped away around the motel with Cameron holding his hand and it wasn't long until they were walking through the trees. "Are you sure this is safe?" Cameron asked.

"I'm not human, Cam." Harry sighed and stopped before turning to hug his boyfriend. They were about a mile from the motel by now. Cameron waited patiently knowing that Harry hadn't finished. "I can't pretend to be all the time. I need..."

"I know." Cameron shifted his arms and trailed his fingertips down Harry's spine knowing what that did to Harry. Harry couldn't have stopped it from happening even if he wanted to and his wings unfurled from his back and stretched out into the air before folding around them. Cameron sniggered. It was like somebody stroking you in a very personal place. That part of Harry's back was probably more erogenous as well.

"How about we make sure for certain that Quinn didn't try to follow you?" Cameron asked before picking Harry up by the waist and shifting enough to make his point. Harry grinned and reached down to open both of their jeans. Harry could fly a little later.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Three hours later**

Harry let his eyes fall shut as he savoured the feeling of the air thrumming across his wings. He could feel the pressure his wings created and with just a twitch he could direct that into any direction he wanted. There was only one thing better than this and that was being in Cameron's mind, immersed so completely that their thoughts were laid open to one another. But Cameron could only share this wonder through Harry's memories but through that he'd become more and more attracted to the idea of becoming a bird when he chose his animal.

The only thing stopping Cameron choosing now was that he'd always wanted to be a predator so that his brother could remain the gentle soul he'd always been and still be able to rule with Cameron to protect him from harm. Harry knew he was torn between the two but Harry knew which he'd like Cameron to choose. He knew what it was like to have brothers and what it was like to lose them. If Cameron could protect his brother from harm that would make him so happy.

Harry's eyes opened and he twisted to angle back towards the motel. He'd come out to fly tomorrow night as well since it was so dark that even the Vampires wouldn't be able to tell him apart from a bird once he was high enough. He angled towards the dark garden behind the motel but cut his flight shot just by the trees when he spotted a figure on one of the benches. He dropped to the ground even as the world slammed to a halt. The easiest way to get by them unseen was to simply ignore the physics of the world. He folded his wings around himself rather than pull them in since nobody would spot him anyway before walking across the grass towards the room he shared with Cameron.

He was only ten yards away from the figure before he realised he'd guessed wrong. It was in fact two figures and he stared at them for a moment. They'd been out watching the stars together by his best guess but now Tamarack was gently taking blood from just above Jez's left collar bone where his bare chest allowed her full access. Low enough that if it didn't heal it could be easily hidden.

Harry's hands shook and he shut his eyes tightly to control himself. He'd wondered whether Jez fed Tamarack or if she still hunted for strangers. He knew she hadn't fed from Cameron since Jez and Harry had met Tamarack because Harry couldn't stand the idea of a Vampire drinking from his soulmate. He'd thought he'd be happy knowing that Jez loved her enough to take that step but as he looked upon their frozen forms all he could feel was the pain and suffering he'd always felt. He'd never had his blood taken with permission and he felt the need to protect Jez from her so desperately he could barely breathe.

Just like when Sirius had fallen into darkness Harry let the world resume without realising it. He found himself staring at the way Jez's body trembled under Tamarack's lips, he could see Tamarack's muscles shift as he held him still and swallowed down his blood. He could hear the moan from Jez and he choked out a pained gasp and stumbled back. His legs connected with a bench and he almost tripped back over it as it toppled over.

Tamarack had heard his gasp though and she pulled away quickly and turned hazy eyes to focus on him. Jez couldn't focus on anything else but the lingering sensation of their combined minds but Tamarack saw a threat and forced herself to be alert. "Harry..." She whispered as she spotted him.

Harry choked again at the sight of her fangs and flecked eyes and took another step back with a small pained sob. His wings opened wide and he almost tried to get between Tamarack and Jez but she'd placed herself between her soulmate and the threat.

Harry crumbled to his knees and his wings arced up around him as he hid his face and let the tremors course through his body as he cried. All the people he'd been that had been killed just this way. He felt Ryn's throat torn apart. He felt Nicolas being drained dry as if it was happening all over again.

"Tam, get Cameron." He heard Jez tell Tamarack and he felt hands on his midnight wings and opened them when Jez tried to force them apart. Jez knelt in front of him and slipped his arms around Harry but the blood just visible on Jez's throat made Harry bury his face into Jez's other shoulder and cling to him desperately.

"She was drinking your blood." Harry whispered. "I..."

"Panicked." Jez nodded. "Can you put away your wings?"

"Jez..." Harry sighed.

"I know you feel stronger with them but somebody might see." Jez told him. "I'm here though, you've got me to replace them. Put them away, Harry."

Harry nodded and with a massive effort he stripped himself of the comfort of his wings and pulled them into his back. He shivered at the sudden cold over his back and leaned against Jez. "I'm sorry." Harry whispered.

"We knew how you'd react to it, Harry." Jez whispered. "That's why I didn't come talk about it even though I wanted to."

"You wanted to?" Harry pulled his head back with a frown.

"Of course." Jez told him. "You're my brother, my best friend. You mean everything to me, Harry. I wanted to share with you everything about Tamarack and I."

"I haven't been there for you." Harry hung his head and Jez shifted and pulled Harry into his lap and his head under his chin. Jez sat with his back to the bench to support him better and held Harry tightly.

"You'll always be there for me." Jez told him. "I know you've got too much on your mind right now and I didn't want to add to it. But if there was anything I really wanted to tell you I would have. Just not this."

"It's just..." Harry cried.

"Too many bad memories." Jez nodded. "But I don't have those memories. Tam is always so gentle with me and she never forced me or anything. It feels good to me and I don't like the idea of her feeding from someone else when she can feed from me. It makes me feel..." Jez forced himself to stop.

Harry looked up at him and then dropped his head on Jez's bare shoulder. "Makes you feel needed."

"I know you understand that, Harry." Jez whispered.

Harry looked up at him and knew tears were on his cheeks. "_I_ need you." Harry told him.

Jez smiled. "I know you do. I need you too, Harry. Half the reason I'm here is because I want to be with Tamarack and she wants to be here to protect Cameron like she always has." Jez smiled as he looked up away from Harry and Harry turned to see Tamarack and Cameron standing by his own feet. He dropped his head onto Jez's shoulder as Jez continued. "The other half of the reason is because you and I need each other. You need me and I need you."

Harry nodded into Jez's shoulder but tilted his head when Cameron knelt in front of them both. "You okay, babe?"

Harry groaned but nodded. "He just got a little worked up when he saw Tam feeding from me." Jez told him quietly, making it all sound completely reasonable.

Cameron nodded and Harry looked up at Tamarack. "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't trust you with Jez. It's just..."

Tamarack knelt and lightly stroked both Harry and Jez's hair. "Harry, you've got nothing to apologise for. We know how feeding makes you feel because of your history with it. That's why we're careful not to do it around you. I don't take much, just a little every few days to keep myself from needing anymore."

She looked into Jez's eyes and her eyes glazed just a little. Harry looked at Jez who had that same look and he knew they were talking to one another silently. Jez nodded and looked back at Harry. "If you want we'll stop." Jez told him. Harry flinched but Jez held him tighter. "Harry, you look sick just thinking about her feeding from me. I know it hurts you to consider someone doing to me what Vampires have done to you in the past. Tamarack can feed from someone else if it brings you peace of mind."

"Jere..." Harry whispered, putting his face into his best friend's neck as he used the very rare nickname for him that nobody else could utter and that Harry didn't even use unless either of them had just had a nightmare. He tried to find something to say but so much of himself wanted to make it so Jez didn't let any Vampire feed from him. The logical part told him that Tamarack would never go too far or hurt him but such a large part of him screamed at the very idea and it was overwhelming.

Cameron sighed and leaned in to kiss Harry on the side of the head. His mind merged seamlessly and tried to soothe the edges but he shook slightly for Jez and Tamarack to see as he felt the extreme emotions. He looked back up but kept a hand on Harry's neck to keep the connection. "You can't ask him that." Cameron told his own best friend. "He's too torn. He knows it's stupid to think you'd hurt Jez but Jez is his foundation I suppose you could say. He's Harry's fall back when everything goes wrong, even ignoring me. Jez is the one that's always helped him and most of his mind is screaming at the idea of Jez being hurt. He wants to say he trusts you with Jez and can deal with you feeding from it and he's trying to force out the words."

"But...?" Tamarack prompted.

"He just can't get the words out." Cameron sighed. "And he honestly can't deal with it." Harry looked up at Cameron with a choked sob at having Cameron tell them that. The rest could be excused but Harry simply not being able to deal with it might make Tamarack and Jez begrudge him for it. Harry hid his face in Jez's chest and the others fell into silence.

"Harry?" Jez asked after a moment. "You want me to stay with you tonight?"

Harry flinched because that was exactly what he'd been thinking about. He felt ashamed for it because it was as good as saying he couldn't trust Tamarack alone with Jez. "I get it, Harry." Tamarack told him gently. "If you don't have Jez with you tonight you'll panic about him being hurt. At least if he's there you can reassure yourself."

Harry nodded his head and let Cameron lift him up onto his feet. Harry hugged him tightly and kissed his neck. "You alright?" Harry whispered to him.

"I'm okay." Cameron told him. "I just don't like seeing you this distressed."

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered and Cameron didn't bother arguing with him about apologies. Cameron half carried him back to their room and got him into bed and instead of just Cameron curling up with him he had Jez there too. He found himself curling himself up in Jez's side with Cameron anchoring him from behind and although he knew Tamarack was somewhere in the room as well all he could focus on was the two boys in his bed and how desperately he needed them both to be alright.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry woke up when Cameron touched his mind with his own. He was used to Cameron's mind at the edge of his own when they fell asleep but with sleep they separated automatically. Cameron could always wake him by just gently nudging his attention telepathically. Unless he was in a nightmare though. This time Cameron was worried and even as Harry woke he realised why.

Harry was lying with Jez facing him and Harry was still holding him like a teddy bear. Cameron was spooned behind him and Jez had woken Cameron up with the small noises escaping him and the way his limbs jerked. Harry, because of his recent lack of decent sleep had slept through the first signs of the nightmare but knew he'd have been woken when Jez really slipped into one. Jez didn't cry out or scream in his nightmares because they weren't as violent as Harry's but they made him cry and beg because that's what he'd faced when he was younger.

Harry didn't know the number of times he'd been woken by Jez pleading for help with little whimpers and moans. Tamarack appeared suddenly, ready to wake her soulmate and she was just reaching out to establish a mental link through their bond when Harry shook his head slightly. She frowned and pulled back, trusting Harry. Harry pulled Jez slightly tighter, holding him in his arms and started whispering a gentle song. He'd used to hum nonsense to Jez when he got like this but now he knew a few nice songs from his past and it was nonsense enough to Jez to not pick up and focus on words.

The song was a lullaby from Ryn's childhood. Hecate had used to sing it to him after his own parents had died. He imagined the only other person in the world that might recognise it now would be Thierry. Cameron could hear that he was singing and he knew where the song came from and what it meant through the open bond and Tamarack could hear the words but not recognise them. Jez relaxed at the sound of Harry's soft singing and snuggled deeper into Harry's warmth. Harry heard Tamarack gasp in surprise and settle on the edge of the bed and the motion woke Jez surprisingly well now that he wasn't in a nightmare. Jez was a light sleeper when he was in a normal dream because of the number of times that he'd woken Harry from a nightmare but he was like Harry in a nightmare, hard to wake and horrified when they did.

Harry continued softly singing and Jez pulled back just enough to look up into Harry's eyes from just a few inches away. A tear rolled from his face and Harry leaned in and kissed his cheek before letting Jez lean his head into Harry again and wipe the tear away on Harry's shoulder. It was better for Jez to come out of his nightmare first and then wake up. Harry had learnt that a long time ago.

"I didn't know that would work." Tamarack whispered softly. Jez shifted to lie on his back but pulled Harry with him and up to his side like a teddy, unwilling to let him go just yet. Tamarack leaned down and hugged her soul mate, unaffected by his vulnerability because she, like Harry, knew what had caused it.

"It never worked with Nicky." Harry told Tamarack. "Maybe it's just me?"

"I always forgot to suggest it." Jez shut his eyes for a moment and then slid up and looked at Harry even as Harry shifted to look down at him.

"How many nightmares have you been getting?" Harry demanded.

Jez sighed and turned back into Harry and hugged him as if comforting Harry this time. "Just a few." Jez told him.

"Every night when he's alone." Tamarack betrayed her soul mate getting a wince from Jez. "And a few times with me."

"Whenever Tamarack's not around, you're staying with me and Harry." Cameron declared making Jez jump at the reminder of Harry's boyfriend in the bed as well. Harry reached back and squeezed Cameron's hip gently in gratitude before nodding to agree with him.

"You three need more sleep." Tamarack declared before shifting to kiss her boyfriend goodnight again. "I'll wake you all in a few hours in time for breakfast."

"Yes mum." Cameron chuckled and Harry couldn't help the small laugh especially when Jez smiled at them all before turning to hide against Harry. Harry pulled the duvet right up to their heads knowing that Jez would prefer the isolation in order to get back to sleep after a nightmare. He just about managed to see the flash of Jez's smile when he saw the motion and knew that Harry remembered everything about him.

"Thanks, Harry." Jez whispered.

"Always." Harry told him easily. "Love you."

"Love you too." Jez sighed out. They heard a snort of amusement from Cameron.

"Don't mind the boyfriend and girlfriend then." Cameron chuckled.

"_Always."_ Harry whispered into Cameron's mind knowing that all of his different personalities were echoing in that declaration.

"Love you, Tam." Jez whispered knowing that his Vampire girlfriend would hear the words.

"Quiet brats." Tamarack laughed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

It was midday before the San Francisco gang arrived at the house. All five of them looked rather on the nervous side as they got out of the minivan and slowly moved up the driveway towards the porch to confront the group there, though it was split into two subtle groups itself. Rowan, Kestrel, Jade and Mark stood together with Mary-Lynette and Ash between them and where Harry stood with Cameron, Jez, Nicky and Tamarack. Quinn and Rashel were out checking that the gang definitely hadn't been followed.

Harry moved down the steps to greet them and he shook Jezebel and Morgead's hands. "I'm glad you followed my directions."

"You're the enemy we know." Morgead grunted but a small smile played at his lips.

"I'm sure it has something to do with Hugh singing my graces to Jez whenever he can." Harry smirked at the girl who laughed and nodded.

"I've come to trust Hugh's judgement." She agreed. "Though I don't think he really does credit to how insane you sound most of the time. And vague."

"Interestingly I used to get annoyed at people keeping information from me." Harry grinned. "Now I do it all the time and I find the humour in it."

"Not all of us see that humour, Harry." Nicky announced from behind him. "Are you going to do introductions or not?"

"Bossy." Harry grumbled. "Well I suppose introductions might make everyone relax a little." He glanced over his shoulder at the homeowners and his own friends before turning back to the gang. "Everyone this is Jezebel Redfern, Morgead Blackthorn and their gang from San Francisco." He ignored Jezebel's correction of her name before turning to Rowan's group. "Jezebel, I'm not sure you've met your cousins. This is Rowan, Kestrel, Jade and Ash Redfern and Mark and Mary-Lynette, Jade and Ash's soulmates. Mark's only been a Vampire for a few months now."

"It's good to meet family, Jezebel." Rowan nodded succinctly.

"Jez." Jezebel tried and Harry heard the snort of amusement from his own best friend.

"Lastly my own entourage which is really getting out of hand you all realise?" Harry raised an eyebrow at them.

"That's because too many people know how much trouble you get into when you're left on your own." Cameron answered quickly getting a mock wounded look from him. "Alright! It's because you're too cute."

"Cute?" Harry asked. "Interesting I suppose." He turned back to Jezebel and Morgead. "That's my soulmate I mentioned before. Cameron Drache." The two swallowed nervously and Cameron moved up to stand next to Harry with an arm around him waist though he simply nodded at the gang in greeting knowing that Harry hadn't finished. "And this is Tamarack, member of Circle Daybreak and Cameron's 'body guard'."

"Friend." Cameron explained easily.

"Then Nicky and Jeremy." Harry continued and paused as Jez complained. "Here's a question for both of you. What is it with people whose names can be shortened to Jez? I think Jeremy's a cute name."

"Exactly why I prefer Jez." His best friend glared at him good naturedly.

"Guess what, Jeremy?" Nicky grinned. "You get to be Jeremy for a while."

"Why!" The newly christened 'Jeremy' complained.

"Because it's confusing otherwise." Nicky pointed out.

"Why can't she be Jezebel?" The human complained.

"She has teeth and drinks blood." Nicky told him succinctly.

"My girlfriend does too!" He grinned happily and turned to Tamarack to defend him only to have her raise her arms in surrender.

"Don't make me argue with Nicky." Tamarack laughed. "For a human she can be scary when it comes to her boys."

"Are they always like this?" Morgead asked Harry and Cameron with a shocked look.

"Normally Harry is helping the chaos." Cameron declared.

"Hey!" Harry frowned before relaxing. "I suppose that's true." He turned to Rowan. "May we take this inside?"

"I think that would probably be best." She nodded. "Please come inside." She offered everyone. Harry and Cameron led the way inside and slipped into an armchair in the living room as everyone else filled the room. They had a lot to talk about and not too long to do it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A month later**

They'd slipped back to Las Vegas in small groups and via different airports so that even if anybody connected them and even realised they were all gone all at once they couldn't have found out where they'd come from. Harry was new to trying to hide in this new world of advanced technology but he was no stranger to hiding his tracks. As far as anyone knew Harry, Jez and Nicky had taken a few days off in way of a break and Tamarack's assistance with the head of the school meant that nobody realised they'd done it without permission.

They'd gone back to the centre without much of a fuss although Michael had been a little wary over why they'd basically vanished without much warning. They had thought to leave Michael a few texts to tell them that they were going but as far as he'd known they were visiting a distant relation of Nicky's in California for a few days for her birthday. To make it up to their new friend Harry invited him round for three meals that week to the point that Michael was starting to feel overwhelmed and told Harry in French to stop trying to apologise.

After returning they'd gotten back to focusing on their work at the Institution. They were in six or seven hours of classes every day as the Institute crammed the entire year's worth of work into six months and Gordon was starting to show the strain. Harry found that the massive amount of information was easily absorbed, he'd had enough practice adjusting recently. Michael, Jez and Nicky were like Harry in that they were naturals with the subject and although tired after classes they really enjoyed themselves and it was normal for the lecturers to have to tell them to stop laughing and having so much fun in their classes. Gordon on the other hand, although he had a decent level of knowledge, didn't have the same ability to effortlessly absorb so much information and actually commit it to memory.

His irritation at falling behind the others was never more obvious than it was to the animals that they dealt with on a daily basis either at the Institute or at nearby zoos when there was something interesting enough to draw them out of the city. He'd been bitten, slashed and hit by just about every species of animal that existed on the planet and most of the animals they dealt with on a regular basis just shunned him.

It was the middle of October and Cameron and Tamarack had visited a grand total of a dozen times when Harry, Jez and Nicky walked into their apartment to find Thierry standing in the middle waiting for Harry. Quinn and Rashel, their neighbours as far as Michael was concerned, were sitting together on the sofa.

"You'd think my bodyguards would text me if I had an intruder wouldn't you?" Harry asked Nicky and Jez before flopping down in the armchair and patted the arm. "Come on boy! Sit!" He told Thierry as if talking to a dog.

Thierry gave him a quelling look but perched on the edge of the chair anyway. Harry shifted and leaned against his side getting endearing looks from Nicky and Jez who offered drinks all around and disappeared over to the kitchen to make them. Thierry settled an arm around him. "Hey, brother." Thierry greeted.

"What did you do wrong?" Harry asked as he looked up at him. Thierry got an outraged look on his face even as Quinn snorted in amusement.

"They lost somebody else." Quinn told him.

"I wouldn't say it like that." Thierry sighed.

"How would you say it then?" Harry asked.

"Aradia took it upon herself to seek somebody out and left before anyone knew what she was doing." Thierry sighed.

"Where'd she go?" Harry frowned. He'd been in contact with the Blind Maiden a few times over the last month but she'd never mentioned anything of the like.

"We heard rumours that the Hidden Kingdom had started interacting with the modern world once again." Thierry sighed.

"What's the Hidden Kingdom?" Jez asked as he and Nicky handed out drinks and settled down into the conversation.

"It's a place cut off from the rest of the United States by a massive mountain range. In past years that was enough to keep them isolated. The locals didn't go near the mountains because people always used to vanish there." Harry explained getting a surprised look from Thierry. "Going by the fact it's not made CNN yet I'd have to say it's protected from Satellite and planes too somehow. Magic probably."

"Clever deduction." Thierry snorted and got a rather ineffectual poke in the side from Harry. "How do you know about it?"

"I used to be a slave there once upon a time." Harry shrugged. "Called myself Kevin."

"You don't look like a Kevin to me." Jez smirked.

"I didn't look like Harry then." 'Kevin' retorted with a smirk of his own. His voice took on a strange accent, older English mixed with a colonial bite. "Jeremy." He teased in way of finishing.

"Mean." Jez grunted after getting over Harry's quick shift of demeanour.

"What's the place like?" Nicky asked.

"It's basically medieval England." Harry, or rather Kevin, informed them all. "A massive castle in the middle of the valley and enough crops and cattle to support the Shapeshifters, werewolves and witches and a little bit for the human slaves. Vampires obviously just fed off the slaves. The forest around it is very dense and the Night Worlders used to hunt in it. Slaves preferable." He shuddered and went quiet staring off into space and Thierry shifted him before he could even realise he was moving. Harry was set down into his lap and he leaned back into Thierry's chest.

"What happened?" Rashel asked.

"I tried to escape." Harry shrugged. "I learnt of the exit from eavesdropping on a couple of Shapeshifters and went for it. I think I even saw the exit before they caught up to me."

Jez and Nicky winced drastically knowing without having to be told what happened to 'Kevin' after he was caught up to.

"Aradia left orders for me to tell you as soon as I got her letter." Thierry sighed. "That was two days ago. I've got men searching the area but they can't find any way into the valley by foot. I'd go myself but I'm expected at the Night World Council meeting soon."

"You want me to go." Harry frowned back at Thierry.

"Nobody else knows their way around that place." Thierry tried. "I'm not putting you at risk. I've got four Shapeshifters willing to go with you. Two Eagles and two Hawks. They're good fighters on the ground. They can protect you."

"They know?" Harry asked.

"They will do if you accept and tell them." Thierry sighed. "They're perfectly loyal Harry. I've raised the four of them since they were children."

"But even if Harry goes how's he going to get in? On foot? They'll be looking out for that and four Shapeshifters won't be able to protect him." Quinn frowned. "Why aren't we talking about Rashel and I going?"

"Because I need you to stay here on this one." Harry sighed before standing up. Cameron was going to be annoyed but Harry had to do this. He'd known since Aradia's premonition that one of the Wild Powers would be found in that place but he'd wanted to avoid going there himself but if Aradia was in trouble then he needed to go find her.

"How do you expect to get in past the lookouts then?" Quinn frowned.

"Fly." Harry sighed. He might as well tell them now.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two days later**

"Boss, you sure about this?" Rodney called over the wind with a nervous expression. "I mean nobody really knows what to expect down there!"

Harry looked down across the valley filled with mist. It was so thick that you couldn't see the forest that he knew grew down there. If it wasn't for the magic permeating the air he knew the trees would have all died off long ago. You couldn't see the other side of the large valley from their position because of the fog but he knew that almost fifteen miles away, about three quarters of the way across the valley, was Black Dawn. The castle that he'd lived in the shadow of for seventeen years but never stepped inside of expect for the kitchens and main hall on special occasions.

"Boss, you alright!" Sylar called and touched his arm. The two Eagle Shapeshifters stood nervously looking at his warring emotions. At least they weren't staring at his wings anymore. It had taken a while for the four Shapeshifters to stop staring in awe. They were the human versions of small birds in awe of a bigger bird. Sylar and Rodney were twins, almost identical in human form and thus in Eagle form. Victor and Seth were cousins through their fathers and all of their family were Hawks of different types. They were off in bird form checking nobody had seen Harry arrive.

"I didn't think I'd have to look at this place again." Harry told them gently but with their Eagle hearing they heard him easily enough.

"When was that?" Sylar asked.

"I don't know." Harry shook his head. "I had no timeline to work on. I do remember being awoken a few times after I died though so it was before the eighteen hundreds."

Sylar's eyes unfocused a bit as he tried to work out what Harry, or rather Kevin, had just said. He'd almost confused them more when he'd introduced himself to them formally when he'd called himself Kevin but right now he really did feel most like Kevin with a little Nicolas mixed in because of the lines that could be drawn between their lives. And of course a little A'Zia because he had his wings open.

A hawk suddenly flew up at them from in front of them and 'Kevin' flinched as the last moments of his life flashed back through him. His wings flared out defensively as A'Zia moved to the forefront in Kevin's sudden absence of control and the poor hawk almost got thrown away in the sudden wind from his wings. His wings flexed as he recognised the hawk as Seth and the bird hit the ground and shifted back into his human form and started shivering straight away at the cold.

The four Shapeshifters were wearing special trousers made from the felt of Shapeshifters and they looked normal enough to be accepted in normal society while allowing them to shift without stripping off. They had t-shirts hidden away nearby along with what Harry had carried for them up the mountain but Harry was carrying what weapons they had around his belt and on his back between his wings. Daggers and short swords for the most part, both wooden and steel. Harry's own was a gift from Thierry, a metal sword with a sharpened wooden sheathe so it could be used for every adversary but in Harry's Samurai style which was his strongest weapon.

"Sorry." Harry muttered at the confused look on Seth's face. "You took me by surprise."

Seth didn't believe him and being a bird Shapeshifter he knew how wings moved when panicked. "What killed you exactly when you were here?" Seth asked with a pointed look.

"A hawk Shapeshifter." Harry stated simply and turned away from their worried looks. He wasn't used to people he'd only just befriended worrying about him. "Did you sense anything?"

"There isn't another soul for miles." Seth nodded.

"We'll spread out along the valley and sweep it." Harry declared. "Stay above the mist until you spot the castle and then stay out of sight. There's no natural wildlife here so keep out of sight."

"None?" Sylar asked in shock. "Wow, that's a little weird."

Without anything more needing to be said Harry angled his wings and leapt from the top of the cliff and out over the steep slope. His wings filled with vital air and his fall quickly turned into a glide. A wide sweep of his midnight wings sent him rocketing across the valley. He stayed high until the others shifted and found him before skimming down to the top of the fog so that a small flicker of his wings would put him down in its protective core. He couldn't scan the valley for life like the four Shapeshifters could so they formed the actual line around Harry and slowly they moved up through the valley.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Twelve hours later**

Harry found himself wondering if Aradia had known that he'd be there to witness this or not. They'd searched the valley in the last hours of the night and found nothing so come closer to the city for the night. They'd seen quite a few hawk Shapeshifters since arriving so Seth and Victor were able to fly around the city and find out what was going on without being spotted as anything but another Shapeshifter and it was them that spotted Hunter Redfern talking to a witch about executions in the morning.

Harry had assumed it was important so had taken up position on the side of Black Dawn Castle. A spot he'd used to notice from the ground but had never been close to. He'd had to smile as he slipped around behind the castle from the air and alighted on the wide ledge two thirds of the way up. It wasn't looked out on from any windows and with the black stone and Harry's wings covering his body he faded away to most people's eyesight. He didn't fool himself into thinking that he'd go unnoticed forever but people were more interested in the fact their Prince was tied up ready to be executed.

He spotted Aradia tied up down there as well as a few human slaves although two looked far too self-aware to be normal slaves. But if Black Dawn had opened up to outsiders then it made sense that they had new slaves too. Hunter Redfern was clearly leading proceedings, riling up the crowd and when it happened Harry could have blinked and missed it. There was a sudden scramble as the witch that they'd heard talking to Hunter the night before tried to free something from the Prince's right arm only for Hunter to call for her death. The closest soldier lunged and stopped with his metal spear a foot from the middle of the witch's back.

Harry opened his wings knowing that he could do what he liked now without being spotted. He looked up at the Eagles perched on the top of the castle and the two Hawks floating up by the cloud of mist before he stepped off the edge and used his wings like a parachute in the dead air. He hated 'flying' when he was in the moment because it was always such a disappointment but it had its uses even if getting aloft was tiring.

He landed heavily in the middle of the wooden staging that had been set up and took in Hunter Redfern stoically even as the Nicolas part of him wanted the fighter parts of him to ram his sword and sheathe through his chest. He knew that he should leave that to the Prince though once he was freed. He could always catch up to Hunter later. Rashel and Quinn had almost killed him before but this time Hunter wouldn't get away.

Harry walked across the stage and drew his samurai sword as he went and calling forth everything he knew in the art of wielding such a weapon he put it through the shaft of the spear. Momentum twisted the spear and the two parts split but froze in their minutely different places but the kinetic energy was there, ready for time to allow it to exert it's force. The Witch almost had whatever contraption that was sitting on the Prince's arm off so Harry merely walked around to Aradia and the three humans there. One was obviously a recaptured escapee whereas the other two looked like they'd tried to escape after just being captured.

He cut through their bindings with ease before he spread his wings and boosted himself up onto the top of what had used to be the armoury but now seemed to be the grain store and he sat himself on the edge knowing that with his wings hidden within his body he was small enough to go unnoticed for the few seconds this would take. He couldn't be caught by anyone here even if they spotted him anyway.

Time ran back into full speed and he was taken by surprise once again but how fast things had been going. The first thing he heard was a very loud crack sound as the spear was sent into two pieces. The tip bounced off of the ground and skittered away while the force of the blow tipped the shaft from the Shapeshifter's hands and made the man stumble.

People gasped and called out in surprise but the Witch barely noticed and the bindings fell to the floor. The Prince pushed the witch out of the way and raised his hands at Hunter Redfern and blue lightning exploded from him striking Hunter straight in the chest. A geyser of power so bright it burned at his eyes flooded up into the sky, burning a hole through the mist and to the sunlight high above.

Harry looked back down at the new crater where the staging had been and then at the Prince and the former four captives. One girl had thrown herself onto the Prince in relief regardless of the teeming confusion around them. Half of the nobles had been swallowed by that attack, including some that the Kevin part of him recognised as if he'd only just been a slave here. It didn't help him that those nobles he did recognise were Vampires and hadn't changed at all in that time.

He finally looked at Aradia to see her looking up towards him, a smile on her face as she rubbed at her wrists. He glanced away as his own guard landed softly around him and before he realised what he was doing he'd stroked Sylar on the back of the head.

It didn't take the Prince long to take control of the situation, finding the men he trusted the most to regain order and when Harry and his four guards slipped off of the top of the grain house they were quickly spotted. Five humanoids as they were and armed with the weapons Harry had been carrying around for the five of them.

Soldiers surrounded them and eyed Harry warily since he was human but dressed as an outsider and clearly the object of four Shapeshifters' protective gazes. "We're here to see the Prince." Harry stated simply even as he continued walking. A spear stopped him in his tracks and he merely looked at the Shapeshifter holding it feeling Kinen rising in anger.

"Let them through!" The Prince's regal tones called over the crowd and the guards parted and more or less herded the five of them up towards the crater. At his side stood Aradia who had clearly spoken for them.

"What trouble did you get yourself into this time, Aradia?" Harry called out as if he wasn't human in the middle of a place where the only humans never even had proper names.

"Nothing you couldn't get me out of." Aradia answered with a sweet smile. "Good timing."

"I'd say he's a few moments too late." The Prince frowned over them. He was clearly uncomfortable addressing Harry even though he was holding firmly to a young girl of perhaps sixteen next to him.

"Evidently." Harry smirked. "It's just a good thing that the spear shattered and all their bindings came undone."

"Harry..." Aradia laughed before she could stop herself. "Can I introduce to you Prince Delos Redfern?"

"Of course you can." Harry nodded. "Though I did know his father I believe."

"And who is this?" Delos had clearly had enough. "And how could you have possibly met my father? You're a human."

"Hey..." The girl muttered and got a soft look in apology.

"My name is Harry." Harry bowed his head gently. "I am an Old Soul working with Circle Daybreak which is how I know Aradia."

"I've heard of Old Souls." The Prince frowned. "I was told them as a story. I didn't think they existed."

"If I may, your Highness." The Witch from before stepped up. "It's true that they exist. People just don't like to admit that humans could be older, wiser and know more than us."

"Wise..." Harry grinned. "I like that."

"That doesn't tell me how you knew my father." Delos frowned.

"I used to live here." Harry shrugged. "Maybe a few hundred years ago. Can't say I know for sure. Got my throat slashed by an irate hawk shapeshifter when I found the exit to this delightful little valley."

"Why are you here?" The Prince questioned.

"Aradia left without telling anyone what she was doing except for a letter." Harry rolled his eyes. "Being the only one with knowledge of this place I offered to find her."

"How did you get here?" He frowned.

"All questions today aren't you, Prince Delos?" Harry grinned. "Perhaps we can discuss it later?"

"Yes." Delos nodded simply. "We have something to attend to in the meantime." He muttered glancing at the girl attached to his side. Harry saw the look and the way they tried to maintain skin contact. He'd found his soulmate in this girl right in the middle of all of this. Truly if she didn't exist this might have gone a completely different way.

"Oh." Harry drew their attention again. "My condolences on your late ancestor."

"It's not much of a loss." He grunted.

"Yet you've granted many revenge." Harry pointed out.

"Not a lot of his victims are exactly around to appreciate it." Delos shook his head.

"I am." Harry smirked before turning to offer Aradia his arm to get somewhere more private where she could explain her idiocy.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	9. History's Footprint

Temporal Illusion

A/N; I had planned to take this to the end of the ninth book but instead didn't even get to the start of it. I got caught up in Harry's character but I like what I did with him. Sorry for the long wait for this, hopefully the next instalment will be up quicker.

Warnings; **SLASH **(non-graphic)

Chapter 9; History's Footprint

**An hour later**

"You should learn patience, young Vampire Lord." Harry mused lazily and ignored the flashed teeth aimed at him from Prince Delos marching back and forwards along the sweep of windows on one side of the audience hall of the tower of Black Dawn. They had only just entered the formidable castle when the Witch, Sylvia, had reminded the human girl, Maggie, about her brother. Aradia had stepped in before the Prince could follow, claiming that perhaps the boy would prefer a smaller assembly to free him.

That had ended up with them in the more luxurious audience hall on the third floor which looked out of windows over the modest town within the castle walls. The Prince had been pacing ever since as Harry and Aradia sat in old fashioned arm chairs. Vampires and Shapeshifters were constantly coming into the room to report something to their new Lord and he'd send them away. It seemed he was trying to get a move on with some reforms.

"Pacing back and forward like that isn't going to make her get here faster." Harry pointed out. "She needs to see to her brother first."

"She can deal with him here." Delos growled. "What is she so frightened of?"

"You may be soulmate to a human but that does not mean you understand them, Prince Delos." Harry pointed out. "And the only side of a human you _do_ understand is how to make them into a slave and how to keep them that way."

"Harry…" Aradia hissed softly even as Delos flinched backwards. She reached for his hand but he pulled it away from her.

"You've had slaves doing your bidding for your entire life, Prince Delos." Harry spoke harshly. "And I highly doubt it ever occurred to you that they were anything but handy animals to have around. Like the horses in your stables… except I know you take better care of your horses."

"Harry!" Aradia cut in sharply just as Delos' eyes snapped up to the side and he swallowed at the sight of Sylvia, Maggie and her older brother, Miles, standing just inside the doorway.

Harry shrugged uncaringly. "You don't know Delos." Maggie told him sharply. "What do you even know of slaves? You've been here an hour."

Harry waited for them to approach and take seats. Maggie sat with Delos in a seat opposite Harry with Miles sitting in the next chair, shooting nervous looks all around him. Sylvia stood behind, twitching her hands. "First off I believe this Witch has something she needs to do." Harry spoke harshly once more.

"Harry!" Aradia hissed.

"No." Harry argued back and looked up at Sylvia with a burning gaze. "Did you not recognise your Maiden?" He demanded. "Did you not feel her power and understand her position?" Sylvia looked down at her feet. "Well!?" He snapped.

"I did." Sylvia muttered.

"It's over with…" Aradia started.

"Child…" Harry turned to look at Aradia. "You will stop speaking in her favour of I will take this up with the Mother and Crone. You are in enough trouble already after this idiocy."

"Who are you to speak to the Maiden of the Witches like that, human!?" Sylvia hissed angrily.

"Maiden?" Maggie frowned.

"The Witches are ruled by three witches, descendants of Hecate, the Witch-Queen." Delos told her and Miles softly. "Even those under my rule still answer to them first. The Crone, the Mother and the Maiden. Aradia is the Maiden and one day she'll be the Mother and then the Crone."

"As long as she stops running away into the dark ages without her bodyguards." Harry snapped at her and she had the decency to look embarrassed this time. "Think of what the Circles would have done if this Vampire had decided to execute you! A Redfern killing the Maiden would have meant war. We don't need this right now, Aradia."

"Harry…" She sighed.

"Answer _my_ question." Sylvia demanded. "Who are you to speak to her like that, human?"

"And what gives you the authority to make demands in my Kingdom?" Delos frowned.

"Harry is the eldest." Aradia spoke up quietly.

"Eldest?" Maggie frowned. "Eldest what? Vampire?"

"He is not a vampire." Delos shook his head. "He's human."

"He is the eldest being in existence. The eldest of all beings that walk on this planet." Aradia explained.

"An Old Soul." Sylvia gasped.

"A what?" Maggie turned to look at her.

"A human whose soul is reincarnated throughout time. When they die they are eventually reborn into a new body. They don't always know what they are but when they do they can have hundreds or thousands of years of experience." Delos explained to his soulmate and her brother.

"Or tens of thousands." Harry pointed out simply. "I was first born thirty thousand years ago."

"The first Vampire was only born twenty thousand years ago." Delos added for Maggie and Miles' benefit.

"_Only_!" Miles looked at Delos in horror.

"I remember over twenty thousand years within the span of thirty millennia." Harry told the four of them simply. "That is why I have the authority and right to speak to the Maiden of the Witches as I do when she acts like an immature child."

"You know slavery…" Delos swallowed thickly.

"I have spent decades in slavery, both in the Night World and when humans enslaved humans. I have seen humans enslaved by Dragons. I have had family that have lived with me in slavery on conclaves." Harry turned to the window. "And I have lived in your town for eighteen years."

"You were a slave _here_?" Miles gasped.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "I was not like you. I was not entrapped by a Witch with no morals or respect for living beings." He sneered up at Sylvia. "I was born in this black hole and lived with no name but the taunts and orders thrown my way by Vampires, Witches and Shapeshifters who thought themselves better than I. Until I gave myself a name and then tried to escape."

"Tried?" Maggie frowned.

"Surely I need not explain what happens to slaves that attempt to escape their _betters_ here?" Harry turned away.

"No human has ever escaped this valley." Delos told Maggie and Miles.

"Until now." Harry stated simply.

"Kevin…" Aradia turned to him. She always seemed to know which personality was in the fore.

"Kevin?" Miles straightened up.

"My name as a slave here." Harry turned to him, softening his expression knowing he shouldn't scare the older boy. "I have hundreds of personalities within me. Situations dictate which is at the fore although technically they all form a single mind. My body now goes by Harry. You may call me that if you wish but I answer to all of my names." He turned back to Aradia. "The release of the humans here is non-negotiable. They will be offered the chance to stay as _equals_ and Circle Daybreak will ensure that is upheld or they will be assisted to the human world wherever they wish."

"This is my valley." Delos pointed out.

"I will wipe this place from existence before you are permitted to keep a slave here." Harry told Delos simply. "You were not capable of stopping Hunter Redfern, how do you think you could stop Thierry Descoudres?"

"I am a Wild Fire." Delos pointed out. "You saw what I did to Redfern."

"You are not the only Wild Fire." Harry told him sharply getting a surprised look from Aradia.

"You lost the other one." Delos smirked.

"Did I?" Harry turned to Aradia even though she couldn't see his smug expression.

"Either way, Prince Delos." Aradia cut in. "Harry is beyond any here. And even with your powers you would not be able to reach him past Circle Daybreak. Without him the world with fall."

"You said the same thing about me." Delos pointed out.

Harry laughed. "All of you should care if your world falls. I have seen it happen three times already." He smirked. "I will not sacrifice these few hundred humans to your whim to buy your hand in this war."

"You don't need to." Delos shook his head. "I've no intention of forcing them to remain."

"Then what was that all about?" Maggie hit her soulmate on the chest with her hand. "Why were you baiting him?"

"We were establishing position." Harry told her.

"For Maggie…" Delos looked at her lovingly before glancing at Miles and then to Harry. "And for her brother who got caught up here. I'll do whatever you need of me. You can use this place as a sanctuary or whatever. You can take me somewhere else. Whatever you need I'll give you."

Harry nodded. "We'll talk more on that tonight after you've seen to your Kingdom and after Aradia contacts the outside world and Circle Daybreak." He turned to look at Sylvia. "You will be bound to your Prince for the rest of your life." He told her simply and saw her go pale. "His will is your life. As punishment for your crimes."

"She helped…" Maggie started.

"She enslaved your brother." Harry told her simply. "Not to mention plenty of others since Black Dawn opened its gates. If it were not for me she would already be dead. If I left it up to others she would still die. She will serve her Prince or I will have her put before the Night World Council. Their views on human slavery have become rather black and white in recent decades."

"Saved me?" Sylvia frowned.

"The spear." Aradia told her simply.

"That broke!" Delos frowned.

Harry stood in way of ending the meeting and Aradia followed him up. "Believe me. How he did it does not concern you. All that should matter to you is the knowledge that if he had not come after me you would now be dead. And his judgement is final for Circle Daybreak. I will bind you to Prince Delos and that will be the end of it."

Harry nodded to the Prince, Maggie and Miles before turning to leave before pausing and turning back to Miles. "Do you wish to speak to another hawk shifter who isn't one of those that did that to you?"

Maggie and Miles turned to look at one another and they moved closer to talk quietly. "I think so." Mile spoke quietly. "I need to know what to do. I don't want…"

"Miles?" Harry prompted.

"I get it if my sister wants to stay here with Delos but…" He frowned. "I don't. I get I'm Night World now but I don't like this place after what happened."

"Then you will come with me when I leave here. Lord Thierry's household will see to what you need and my own bodyguards will see to it that you know how to control yourself." Harry declared. "Come and I'll introduce you to Victor and Seth."

He took Miles out of the room while Aradia dealt with things with the Prince and Maggie and introduced Miles to the two Hawk cousins and to the two Eagles. Harry decided he didn't care for staying in the castle so he retraced his steps out of the stone structure and moved towards the milling humans and their small buildings. They were a little aimless and spotted him quickly and eyed the well dressed and armed shifters around him but clearly recognised him as a human. He knew how things worked here though and quickly found the Healer who he knew would be a leader for the humans.

She was standing watching him along with eight thin men. A crowd quickly gathered around them. "You are human." She frowned at him. "And this boy was as well until recently."

"I am human." He nodded in agreement. "Do you know what an Old Soul is?"

"I've heard rumours." She nodded slowly. "We all have."

"I am an Old Soul for a group that supports Vampires, Witches, Shifters, Werewolves and humans equally." Harry told them. "I came here to help and I've spoken to Prince Delos."

"What of them?" One of the men asked nervously, he was clearly angry at their presence but scared of them all the same.

"We are here to protect our Lord." Seth spoke up.

"Lord Delos?" Another man frowned.

"Lord Harry." Victor nodded towards Harry's back. "Where he goes we go."

"They answer to you?" The Healer asked in shock.

"They are my friends." Harry told her softly, ignoring the four young men's grins at that. "But as hierarchy goes in Circle Daybreak they take my orders."

"Did you need something then, my Lord?" The Healer asked.

"I have spoken to Prince Delos and he will be freeing you all shortly and you will have some choices to make about your freedom." Harry told them a little louder. "You can remain here as equals and help him and us in the future you we can find you a place outside of the valley to live. That said for now I'd like to ask if you have a few cots available. My friends and I came a long way and we are tired and could do with rest."

"Surely the Prince has rooms for you." The Healer asked.

"I am an Old Soul." Harry told her again. "I have lived many lives and died many times. I was born, lived and died as one of you here. As a slave here. I stepped into the tower twice. I have no desire to sleep within it."

They all gazed at him in wonder and Harry continued. "I will see to it that you all see the outside of this valley. I promise you that."

After that they seemed to relax, even around his shifter guards and they were led to a small hut with a series of small cots. Harry laid out on the middle cot and the others settled around. Seth and Victor agreed to keep an eye out so they could talk to Miles and Sylar and Rodney decided to rest on either side of Harry while they could. Harry grinned as they winced and tried to get comfortable on the rigid cots but he was amused more because they didn't comment on it or complain. They knew Kevin wouldn't like it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

"I think the helicopter was a little over the top." Harry mused to his guard as they headed away from the private helicopter towards the limo waiting for them. It had arrived not long after dawn outside the castle to the amazement of most of the inhabitants, most of which hadn't been outside the valley in decades or ever in the case of most of the slaves. It had brought with it officials from Circle Daybreak to establish a presence in the valley and Harry had made it clear to them that he expected them to cooperate with Prince Delos to the fullest. Delos had been the most surprised at both Harry's support and the speed that the old Vampires and Witches of Circle Daybreak had bowed to Harry's orders.

He'd been informed that a plane was waiting for him at the local air field and that the helicopter was to ferry people in and out of the valley all day so he agreed to let it ferry him to a waiting limo that Thierry had sent.

"You do live in luxury it would seem." Miles told him softly as he eyed the limo.

"Thierry lives in luxury." Harry argued. "I just leach off of my little brother."

"Isn't he the oldest Vampire in the world?" Miles turned to look at Seth and Victor who he'd quickly made friends with. When a shapeshifter was turned like Miles had been generally one of the shapeshifters of his kind, when available, would take him in. Seth and Victor, and their families, were the obvious choice as they were also hawks but if not them then another bird shapeshifter would do it and failing that any other shapeshifter family.

"One of Harry's lives grew up with Lord Thierry." Seth told him. "Nobody really knows who the elder really is. Lord Thierry's been known to call Harry his younger brother too."

The limo driver, a Vampire, quickly opened the rear door for them as they approached and Harry let Seth and Rodney enter first and ignored them speaking as he turned to Miles. "Do you wish to see your family before we leave town?"

"Seth and Victor said it's against Night World law for me to tell them now that I've been changed." Miles frowned, obviously upset at the idea of never seeing his family again. Harry prompted him into the limo and followed him in before spotting one of the four occupants that had evidently already been inside.

"Cam!" Harry gasped and jumped him instantly, ending up sprawled in his lap and holding on for dear life. He heard the other occupants laughing at his enthusiasm but ignored them in favour of melting into Cameron's strong hold. "They didn't say you'd be here." He whispered into Cameron's warm neck.

"I asked Thierry not to spread the word." Cameron told him before rearranging Harry in his lap as the door shut and the limo pulled out.

"Uh…" Miles muttered nervously as he looked around.

"Who's the newbie, Harry?" Cameron asked as Harry smiled at his two best friends. Nicky was lounging with a smirk on her face at seeing Harry curled up in Cameron's lap whereas Jez was sitting with his side against Tamarack. The limo was luckily just large enough for them all except Seth and Victor had been relegated to sitting on the floor which they didn't really seem to mind.

"Guys, this is Miles Neely." Harry introduced. "Miles, these are my best friends Nicky and Jez and Jez's soulmate Tamarack. And lastly this is Cameron, my own soulmate."

"Like Maggie and Delos?" Miles asked. "I didn't realise you were bonded too."

"For a few months now." Harry nodded.

"How's he know I'm a newbie?" Miles asked before glancing at Seth and Victor. "They said nobody would know just from looking at me."

"I'm different." Cameron told him simply. "I'm a shapeshifter like you but if you focus on me you'll understand that I'm different."

Harry kept silent as Miles frowned across at Cameron and narrowed his eyes, trying to focus just on him and he knew when it worked when his face went pale and he shifted backwards until he hit Rodney who steadied him. "Easy, Miles. He feels scary because of what he is but he's not going to hurt you." Rodney told him softly.

"Didn't know you were scary, Cam." Jez grinned.

"To other shapeshifters I am." Cameron glanced over the others. "All of my family are."

"Cameron is the son of the ruler of the shapeshifters." Harry told Miles. "They are the strongest of the shapeshifters."

"So he's like Delos? A Prince or Lord or something?" Miles asked. "So I have to call him something?"

"How about Cameron?" Cameron suggested. "I don't hold to formality with people that know the truth about Harry and I."

They lapsed into quiet for a while and Harry settled his head next to Cameron's and merely watched the side of his face, amazed that Cameron had come here to meet him.

"I don't mean to question you, Prince Cameron." Sylar suddenly spoke up from where he was watching the passing streets. "But this is not the way to the airfield."

"No, it isn't." Cameron nodded. They all turned to look at him but nobody seemed to want to comment and Tamarack, Jez and Nicky snickered.

"That's Cameron's scheming voice and that's their giggles at being in on it." Harry informed the others but remained relaxed.

Five minutes later their limo was pulling up outside a large brick building in the middle of the town. "This is the theatre district." Miles frowned. "What's here of interest?"

"I heard about an exhibition here this week that I thought Harry would like." Cameron announced as they all piled out of the car. Sylar, Rodney, Seth and Victor scouted out the crowds but remained subtle about it.

"An exhibition about what?" Harry frowned before he frowned and looked around at the surrounding buildings.

"Harry?" Jez asked softly as he spotted the confused look on his face.

"I know this place." Harry turned in a circle. "Only this building and that one other there. The rest are different."

"You'd know this building." Cameron nodded and grabbed his hand and led him through the open double doors into the concert theatre. The foyer was home to a dozen or so people milling around and drinking refreshments but Cameron ignored them. A sign over the door into the main concert hall and theatre told them it was an exhibition of great performers that had played in this hall and Harry found himself shaking a little as one particular personality started to rise within him.

"I played here." Harry told them all as they watched him in concern. Cameron didn't react so he knew Cameron had already known and his best friends had been aware that Cameron had a surprise but their shock told him that they hadn't been in on it. "In nineteen-oh-two."

"Come on, Harry. We're meeting someone." Cameron told him softly and for the first time he didn't sound so sure of himself. He was frightened about how Harry would handle this. He tugged Harry through the various exhibitions of different performances and artists that had graced these halls until to one side they reached a horseshoe of displays. Most of them were programmes of performances and a few were familiar to him, or rather to Carter. He stood in the middle gawping at the array of photos, feeling tears filling his eyes.

"It's real…" He muttered and Cameron was suddenly behind him, supporting him against his chest.

"This is evidence that Carter existed." Cameron nodded. "Not that you ever had to doubt that."

Harry wiped at his face when a large print caught his eye. The newspaper article of the attack that had taken Jake and Peter, such big news because they'd just performed for the President. He moved forwards and reached out to touch the glass over the display but pulled his fingers back. Then his attention was drawn down to the two wooden instruments sat on a display board so innocently and he choked. These were Jake and Peter's instruments. He knew them so well. He and Sammy had carried them everywhere with them. Jake's Viola and Peter's Violin.

He couldn't stop himself from reaching out to touch them and his eyes found the familiar wear from Jake's fingers on his Viola. He was a second from touching it when a voice cut in. "Please don't touch those." It was a young voice but it was sharp and defensive and Harry took a step backwards and turned. He gasped and stumbled backwards, almost tripping over his own feet. When he finally got himself in order he realised everything had frozen.

He unfroze it quickly and pulled himself straight again but couldn't stop from gawking at the young man. He was perhaps seventeen or eighteen and should probably be in school except Harry reminded himself that it was the weekend.

'_He looks like Sammy.'_ Harry spoke to just Cameron. _'He looks just like him. Cam? What did you do?'_

"Mr. Servon?" Cameron spoke up and moved forwards to offer his hand. "We spoke on the phone?"

"Mr. Drache?" The young man smiled. "I didn't know if you'd actually show."

"I'm glad to see you weren't over exaggerating the extensiveness of your collection." Cameron told him smoothly.

"Cam…" Harry muttered. He didn't know what he needed but he needed something. His eyes turned to take it all in, trying and failing to see everything but then his eyes settled on something so achingly familiar it could have been another part of his own body. It stood by another section of the room amongst programs from nineteen-oh-five and he'd missed it originally. "Cam, that's…" He moved towards the large wooden instrument but remembering the young man's reaction he stopped a pace away from it and simply sunk down onto his knees and stared at his own Cello. "Cam…" He turned his head to see that Cameron had a tear on his cheek but the young man was frowning.

"Sir?" The boy moved closer. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Harry smiled up at him. The boy turned to look at the Cello before gently lowering himself to the ground. He glanced passed Harry at the various people looking around the other exhibits and at the array of people watching them. Jez, Tamarack and Nicky were still there but Miles and the others had slipped away.

"Should I know you, sir?" The young man asked.

Harry laughed a little and shook his head. "What's your name?"

"Jacob. Jake." The young man told him and Harry choked.

"Jacob?" Harry asked before turning to look at the Cello.

"After my great great uncle, Jacob." Jacob told him and Harry wiped at his face sharply. "I never met him though."

"He died." Harry nodded.

"But my great-grandfather told me everything about him." Jacob told him and Harry felt his heart burn.

"Sammy?" Harry managed to gasp out.

"Uh… yeah. I suppose." Jacob nodded. "I just called him Grandpa Sam. He taught me how to play the violin."

"Called…" Harry nodded to himself. If Sammy had still been alive now he'd have been almost a hundred and sixteen. The fact that Jacob had even met him was a miracle.

"He lived until he was a hundred and six. He died in 'ninety-one'." Jacob told him. "Dad used to say he was making up for his brothers. Living for them. Do you know the story?"

"Very well." Harry nodded.

"I've never met somebody that new them. Grandpa Sam taught at some pretty awesome places and I've met people and my family were always musical. Do you play, sir?" Jacob seemed to warm up talking about this.

"I do." He nodded.

"What do you play?" Jacob grinned.

"A little of everything but my love is…" He trailed off and pointed to his own cello.

"That was great-great uncle Carter's." Jacob told him. "After their older brothers were murdered my great-grandfather and Carter continued to play a duet for five years before…"

"He died of tuberculosis." Harry nodded.

"You know a lot about them." Jacob frowned. "Mr Drache said he knew someone that would really be interested and that even I could learn more about them from."

"Yeah." Harry nodded before turning to look him over. "You spent a lot of time with your Grandpa Sam?"

"My dad was always travelling." Jacob nodded. "So I grew up with Grandpa Sam until he died when I was ten. But I remember everything about him."

"Is this your collection?" Harry asked as he looked around them at all the photos and the scores of music and the three wooden instruments.

"Dad passed away last year so I'm the only one left. Last year somebody asked to display it all and since then I've done these little shows." Jacob nodded. "Did you know that my Grandpa Sam and Carter played for the President and King of England in nineteen-oh-five? It was the last show they did before my great-great Uncle Carter died."

"I know." Harry smiled warmly. Jacob was so passionate. "Did your Grandpa Sam tell you anything about your Uncle Carter?"

Harry watched the tension suddenly emerge before Jacob's eyes narrowed. "What about?" Jacob decided on playing dumb.

"So he told you that Carter was older than just one lifetime?" Harry smiled at Jacob's shock. Jacob looked down at his lap before looking up at a faded picture of Carter next to his cello. "It's okay, Jacob." Harry smiled. "He told you about the night on the turn of the century? About the werewolves that killed Jacob and Peter?"

Jacob gasped and sunk backward onto the floor. "How do you know about that!? He said he never even told my Grandfather or my dad!"

"And about Carter saving them because he remembered a past life and then he remembered hundreds." Harry prompted.

"Grandpa Sam said that one day he'd come back to life somewhere." Jacob whispered. "He said he had to teach me about it just in case and that I should never sell these just in case Uncle Carter came back for them."

"That sounds like Sammy." Harry smiled.

"Who _are_ you?" Jacob demanded.

Harry turned back to his cello and gently reached out to brush his fingertips lovingly over the wood. He found a small scratch on the bottom that he'd never sanded off from where he'd once hit Peter with his cello when he was only ten. "Technically my name is Harry now." He turned to Jacob. "But since you're my great-great nephew you can call me Carter."

"No…" Jacob gasped in shock before he leaned forwards. "It's all true!? My Uncle Carter really comes back?"

"I've come back once before since I was with Sammy." Harry told him softly. "I was in London during World War Two. I was just a teenager when the war started and I… I meant to come to the US after the war, just in case Sammy was still alive but that never happened. I was killed in London in nineteen-forty-three."

"And now?" Jacob eyed him up and down. "You don't look anything like the pictures."

Harry laughed a little. "I'm not related by blood." He shook his head. "But I love Sammy just the same. He's still my big brother. You look just like him when he was your age. You look like I did when I was your age too. Well, when I was Carter."

"But you're Harry now?" Jacob frowned.

"I have hundreds of lives in my head." Harry smiled warmly at him. "Carter is a more recent one but they're all just as fresh in my head, like it's only been a few months since I was actually telling Sammy to lay off the mothering when I was sick. It's sort of like split-personality but they are all aware at the same time. But when I'm reminded of something from a particular life I become that person. I _am_ Carter right now more than I am Harry because I'm talking to you like this. I'm talking to you as your great-great Uncle Carter."

"This is a lot to believe." Jacob told him.

Harry laughed before tilting his head to one side and slowly standing up. He glanced around but even Cameron, Jez, Nicky and Tamarack had disappeared now. He put his hands on the younger man's shoulders and squeezed and realised that Jacob was alone in the world by his own admission that his dad was gone and he had no more family alive. That made Carter his only 'surviving' relative. "A'Zia." Harry spoke softly to Jacob who jerked in confusion before gasping.

"Grandpa Sam said he never told anyone about that name." Jacob gasped. "That only Carter would know it if he came back."

"I told Sammy that if I did come back in his lifetime and came to find him I'd tell him that name to prove it was really me." Harry smiled. "He said he'd pass it on one day."

"He told me all these little stories." Jacob warmed up suddenly.

"Ask me about them and I'll tell them to you." Harry nodded. "As many as you need, little nephew."

"Where's his Violin?" Jacob demanded.

"He always said he was going to take that thing to his grave. He said he wanted to be buried with it." Harry smiled and Jacob nodded. "But that's not where it is, is it?" Harry grinned happily. "He always said that but I knew he'd give it to somebody who could look after it provided they used it rather than put it on display or let it collect dust. So he gave it to you to play didn't he?"

"Good god…" Jacob gasped. "You really are Carter. Nobody else could know him like that."

Harry nodded and Jacob was suddenly hugging him tightly and burying his face in his shoulder. Harry held him back tightly. "And my cello, Jake's Viola and Peter's Violin haven't been played since we died because your Grandpa Sam could never have let another make a sound out of them."

Jacob pulled his head back, tears in his eyes that Harry knew were mirrored in his own. "We should fix up your cello!" Jacob declared. "You should play it. Grandpa Sam would like that!"

"Yeah, he probably would." Harry nodded. "How about we go get something to drink and talk?"

"Not just this once?" Jacob begged. "You'll visit right?"

"I'm your Uncle Carter." Harry smiled at him. "I've got a lot to learn about you and about Sammy after I died. And about his kids and grandchildren. It's not often I get to know about my family after I leave them. I want to know everything I can about you."

"I'd like that." Jacob nodded. "But I can't leave this stuff alone. It means too much."

"I'll watch it." Tamarack suddenly appeared with Jez and Nicky.

"Um…" Jacob frowned.

"It's okay. These are my best friends. They won't let anything happen to them and I'm sure they'll take a look at all the pictures." Harry smiled at Jacob. "Let's go find Cameron and I'll introduce you both properly."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That night**

Harry had managed to get to the Valley and back all in one weekend thanks to liberal use of a private jet owned by Circle Daybreak but it was late by the time they got back since he'd spent most of the day with Jacob getting to know him and listening to stories of Carter's older brother. In the end he'd made the offer and they'd helped Jacob pack up his exhibition and taken them to the airfield with them so that Jacob could stay with Harry for a while longer. He'd finished college recently and was applying for a Conservatory which didn't start for a while yet but he had an exhibition to hold in California the next weekend.

"Jacob's out cold on the sofa." Cameron told him softly as he met Harry in the corridor leading to their bedrooms and the bathroom. Tamarack, Jez and Nicky were already in their rooms and Harry had grabbed some stuff to take a good shower. "He's a good kid."

"He's so much like Sammy it's scary." Harry smiled as Cameron led him into the bedroom and shut the door. Harry frowned at the stuff that hadn't been on the bed ten minutes ago before his shower. He tugged his towel tighter around his waist as he approached the two items before gasping. "Cameron!"

"Yeah?" Cameron's grin was obvious in his voice.

"You found it?" Harry asked as if the sight of it wasn't confirmation enough.

"Galen and I found it in storage at the British Museum." Cameron grinned as he stripped off completely and slid into the bed as Harry sat cross-legged with just his towel around his waist and lifted the long sheathe into his lap. The Samurai sword was like an old friend and he drew it slowly from it's protective casing and stared at the shining metal. Any other sword this age would be beyond repair with the abuse it had taken but not a single scratch marred its beauty. Its black grip was just as he remembered it.

"Nobodies used it much since Liam." Harry told Cameron as he pulled it all the way out and touched the blade. It was normally considered poor form to allow skin oil to touch the metal but this sword was enchanted by the best of the Japanese Empire.

"You can tell?" Cameron asked.

"The grip doesn't fit my hand." Harry smiled a little as his eyes drifted shut. "This is Liam's hand. His fingers fit on this grip."

"According to the museum records it was stolen just before the second world war and the grip replaced." Cameron told him.

"Liam didn't know who used it before him." Harry shook his head as he felt the guilt in Oliver once more. "He knew Calamy used it before him but the grip was worn wrong. It wasn't Calamy's grip."

"So you've always replaced the grip each time?" Cameron asked.

"Of course. The grip is specific to the fighter and their styles." Harry nodded, lightly putting his hand over Liam's ghost one on the grip. "Even though my style is mostly the same my hands change and therefore the grip wouldn't work all the time. I got a little upset as Liam when I realised somebody had used it between Calamy and me. It's _my_ sword."

"But it was Oliver." Cameron nodded.

"I know that now. And after a while with it in my hand I realised that it pulled up times with the sword that I didn't really remember myself." Harry nodded. "I'm glad Oliver had it even though he died on it."

"This sword binds Oliver to Imazato, Calamy and Liam." Cameron, brilliant as he was, caught on quickly. Harry smiled at him. "So you need to replace the grip?"

Harry nodded but smiled sadly down at the worn grip. "This is a piece of Liam though. His mark on the world. It…"

"Harry?" Cameron frowned but knew Harry didn't need to be held right now, he needed to have this conversation without distraction.

"It hurts." Harry muttered. "Sammy lived to almost see me again but Jacob and that exhibition fills my heart. It's Sammy's legacy. Carter's legacy. I can feel it, see it. I can touch it."

"But Liam left nothing." Cameron sighed. "No footprint on the world."

"It happens." Harry shrugged. "Just hurts each time I think about them all. All of _me_ I suppose. They only exist in my memories. I mean I know they had a hand in the world I live in now. Maybe more than I can imagine but I'll never really know exactly what that effect is. Some of it's obvious of course. Ryn died keeping Maya away from Thierry and all the good Thierry has done and is now doing is thanks to Ryn sacrificing himself. A'Zia helped rid the world of the Amaru but the world only remembers him personally as fossils long gone."

"I can't imagine what that feels like, love." Cameron sighed.

"It's just questions." Harry mused. "Did Nicolas' sister have children? Did she even live more than another minute after Nicolas died to protect her from that git? Did she have grandchildren? Just like Jacob? Are there members of her family still around or did the Night World wipe out all the slaves when they abandoned the conclave?"

Cameron didn't say anything but he accepted the sword that Harry settled on his lap with a reverent touch. "I suppose I won't get answers for most of my questions." Harry moved to sit next to his boyfriend in the bed after discarding his towel. "But having Jacob out there…" Harry leaned his head on Cameron's broad shoulder. "God, that's makes up for all of it. I can feel the Carter side of me crying out at his presence. All the parts of me that might have family still alive out in the world, no matter how distant."

"Maybe this will help a little." Cameron leaned forwards and grabbed a wrapped item and set it into Harry's lap. "Galen helped me."

"You and Galen alright over me?" Harry asked as he undid the string holding the paper around it. It was a thick, leather bound, book but it was new enough.

"He enjoys learning about you." Cameron grinned. "I think he knows you're his brother-in-law and that'll never change even if my parents can never accept that. He knows one day he'll rule and I want to protect him and that just from that you'll be with us too. I know you're happy helping him rule."

Harry cracked open the book to the front to find an index of names. He gasped having never seen them all written down like this. A'Zia had pride of place at the top and he knew this wasn't Cameron's handwriting.

"Galen wrote it down. He's neater than me." Cameron smiled. "He just got more and more excited the more names I gave him. I think they're all in order."

Harry read through the hundreds of names. "It's strange. I've never written a list of them before. It's my name over and over but it's not. I know the names are different but they're all _me._"

"Yeah." Cameron nodded in agreement. "I see the same thing when I look at them. They're all you and really it's just one name there. Galen had trouble understanding that but he finds it hilarious when I'm talking to him about you and slip in a different name because something you've done matches one of your pasts more than the others."

"You got them in the right order." Harry smiled over at him before spotting the chapter numbers beside the names. "What did you do in this book?"

"Galen and I studied every single one and anything we found even related to them we put in here." Cameron told him and watched Harry open to the first chapter on A'Zia. Harry's breath caught at the sight of the sketch drawn into the front page.

"The writing is Galen's." Harry nodded. "But you drew this." It was a battle field drawn as it had been many thousands of years ago by those that had tried to immortalise the presence of Angels. It showed A'Zia and his battle-mate Cal'va with their wings around them and spears in hand. Obviously they had no real resemblance to their features of the time but it showed his race as they had been.

"I found it in one of the books on the Dragons in my family's library." Cameron told him. Harry flicked through pages at random, finding reminders of his different lives even if they were just pictures of buildings he'd done something in or a musical score. A family tree or an insignia. Cameron had tried to find any physical evidence to things that Harry had described to him, even things so simple as a drawing of the castle that Calamy had died in trying to protect Hannah.

"This is amazing, Cam." Harry reverently closed it knowing he couldn't look at it all today.

"It's how I found Jacob." Cameron told him with a smile. "Galen and I traced your brother's family tree to him and we found out about the exhibition. I asked him earlier if he could find a photo to add to the book with you, Sammy, Jacob and Peter in it."

"Thanks, Cam." Harry put the book and his sword carefully to one side before letting Cameron lie them down with Harry on top of him.

"I asked Jacob if he wouldn't mind taking a picture with you too." Cameron told him. "He seemed to like that idea even if you're not physically Carter anymore."

"I'm Carter in all the ways that matter when it comes to my nephew." Harry smiled down at him.

Cameron held him tightly. "Want you to take care of me tonight." Cameron told him huskily and Harry grinned down at him. Harry had topped the first time together since his past lives had had more experience but they naturally fell into their roles with Cameron as the protector but on occasion Cameron liked Harry to top and Harry couldn't ever find a reason to deny him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next weekend**

"I swear, if that brat complains one more time that we're working on a Saturday I'll castrate him." Nicky hissed as she appeared at Harry's side at the edge of the tiger exhibit. Harry laughed and turned to see a rather sulky Gordon jabbing at his phone.

"Did he try to hit on you again?" Harry laughed and Nicky glared at him furiously. No matter the number of times Nicky threatened the slightly older Gordon with physical harm he didn't seem capable of taking the hint. He seemed to think she was just giving him a challenge.

"It's _not_ funny." Nicky hissed at him.

"You could always let Jacob take you out." Harry grinned.

"He's a little young for me don't you think?" Nicky pointed out.

Jez snorted on Harry's other side. "And what do you call Cameron?"

Harry slapped him on the back of the head as he turned back to taking notes on the tigers. Something was up with one of the yearlings and the vets here hadn't been able to work out what so had asked the Institute to come take a look. The cub was so young they didn't really want to separate him from his mother if they could help it. Harry turned back to Nicky when Jez just pouted at him rather adorably. "He does have a point. Age doesn't really come into it."

"There's also the matter of him being your nephew." She pointed out. "With two greats at that."

"And?" Harry shrugged.

"You really don't have an issue with that?" Nicky frowned at him.

"I saw the looks you were giving each other all week." Harry laughed. "Seriously I thought you and Michael were going to have a thing."

"Michael's sweet but I honestly think he's a little more interested in you boys." Nicky rolled her eyes. "He's fun to hang around with but there's no spark."

"And Jacob?" Jez asked.

"He's cute." Nicky blushed.

"Aww… so adorable." Jez teased with a wide grin.

"Well he's back from his exhibition on Monday so maybe you should ask him out on a date. Go see a movie." Harry suggested. "Get away from Jez and I for a while."

"Hey!" Jez complained. "What's wrong with 'Jez and I'?"

Harry grinned at him before turning back to a ponderous Nicky. "Shouldn't I let him ask me?"

"How traditional." Harry laughed. "Did you know in most cultures over the millennia the woman propositioned the man and the man chose whether to accept it or not?"

"Yeah and then the men tried to kill each other if the woman they wanted tried to proposition another man." Jez laughed.

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's going to take time for him to ask you." Harry pointed out as he settled back on the bench and stretched his legs. "You're his great-great-uncle's best friend. That's a little daunting."

"He acts more like you're his brother." Nicky pointed out. "Or like an uncle that's the same age."

"Huh?" Jez frowned, trying to work that out.

"Like his father or mother was Harry's older brother or sister by twenty years or something." Nicky explained.

"Ah!" Jez grinned. "Yeah he sort of does. But he really adores him too. Like idolises."

"He grew up hearing stories about Carter from his favourite relative. His father wasn't around much and Sammy told him stories about me." Harry shrugged.

"You're taking him to the mansion next weekend right?" Nicky asked. Harry nodded. "You sure he's up for that?"

"He wants to meet Thierry." Harry shrugged. "Sammy told him about him."

"Hey…" Jez suddenly perked up. "How come Carter never sought out Thierry? I mean he remembered everything and he'd have remembered Calamy who realised Thierry wasn't evil and everything right?"

Harry shifted and leant his elbows on his knees. "When my brothers and I were attacked…" Both of his best friends jerked at the colonial accent that turned Harry's speech suddenly. They were normally taken by surprise when he fell completely into another personality. "Close your eyes and imagine shadows all around you. Imagine growls and the sound of paws on the concrete. Jacob and Peter were trying to shield us just because they were older, not because they could. Imagine that fear. Then imagine your big brothers yanked away by black blurs and then blood…" His voice caught in his throat but he steadied it. "I dealt with the fear over the following years because I'd seen things just as bad but Sammy…" He shook his head.

"He was scared of them." Nicky nodded.

"He was scared of losing me or something happening to him and leaving me alone." Harry shrugged. "He was what I had and I was happy with that. I didn't need to go to Thierry and I didn't want anything else to do with the Night World. Sammy didn't want anything to do with it and was scared of the very idea that I might go near it. So I swore to him I wouldn't. And I don't regret that."

"I get it." Jez nodded.

"I wanted answers from Thierry." Harry suddenly spoke up but his accent had changed so drastically that he almost spoke in French. "I felt him holding me when I died. I was so confused just before I died and I got that clarity that Thierry hadn't done all that evil when I saw him as I died."

"Uh…" Jez frowned. "Calamy?"

Harry turned a sly grin on him, so different to the Harry he knew. "Hi, Jeremy."

"Do I have to get all your lives to call me Jez?" Jez complained.

Harry, or rather Calamy, just laughed. "We're split personality to a whole new level. But you two are best friends to all of us just like Cameron is _our_ Soulmate. Not just Harry's." He told them. "But like I was saying. I yearned to talk to Thierry, to get real answers but Sammy meant more to me than establishing the truth about Thierry and Maya."

"I'm sure it's confusing at times." Nicky nodded.

"Not so much." Harry was back to normal again. "We're me. Nothing more and nothing less. Now that we're sorted out that is. You remember what I've been like at times."

"I always just imagine you turning around and going 'we are legion' or something like that." Jez laughed. "I had a nightmare like that once. Tam thought I was going insane when I woke up laughing my head off."

Harry just turned to Nicky and they rolled their eyes to each other. "Come on, it's time we go and meet Doctor Nashell by the vet office." Nicky announced and stood up. Harry stood and yanked Jez up behind him.

"Hey, Harry?" Jez asked as he caught his arm with his own. "You always been gay?"

"Not really." Harry turned to Jez with a shrug. "Sometimes I'm more straight and sometimes I'm more gay. I suppose all my lives are bisexual when I remember my past because I remember relationships with both sexes but when I have a life where I haven't awoken I'm free to be whatever I end up. Now though it's Cameron and it'll always be Cameron. I won't ever love another like I love him. You should get that with Tamarack."

"Yeah." Jez nodded.

"Harry?" Nicky turned to look at him as she walked. "I never really asked this. Have you had wives before?"

Harry laughed and nodded. "A few. Long time male partners too."

"Ch…" Jez suddenly decided not to continue with that question.

Harry sighed and shrugged. "I've had dozens of children."

"That's strange to imagine." Jez told him.

"That's not a lot when you take into account the numbers of lives." Harry shrugged. "But I lived long lives just as often as short and I had families. Maybe I even have descendants. He smiled as he thought about the book. "Cameron and Galen even found some living in China from a life I had almost three hundred years ago. But after so many generations it's so distant."

"But Jacob is different." Nicky pointed out.

"Sammy makes it different." Harry shrugged. "He kept Carter alive in his memories and then passed them to Jacob. Any other descendants wouldn't even know I existed."

"For all we know you're one of our great-time-a-thousand grandfather." Jez grinned.

"Okay, that was just weird." Harry told them. "Do _not_ try to find out if I am."

Jez grinned. "You're already family enough for me."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Four days later**

"She should have been here by now." Jez was fidgeting anxiously on the sofa as he checked his phone once gain. "I should have told her she had to use one of Thierry's cars."

"She's a capable vampire, Jez." Harry leaned back in his armchair and watched his best friend. Tamarack had been due there almost half an hour ago and it wasn't like her to be late and if she ever was she'd have sent Jez a text or whatever.

"She's a _baby_ vampire!" Jez growled at him and Harry just raised an eyebrow at him. He was right of course, Tamarack was their own age and that really wasn't as old and strong as most vampires but she had training by the best. "Vampires own this city. Anything could have happened to her!"

"Jez…" Harry stood up and pulled Jez into his arms. "Baby… calm down."

"Don't call me a baby." Jez grumbled but his body sagged against Harry's. "Cameron's your baby, not me."

"Cameron is my baby." Harry nodded. "But you've been my baby for longer. Just breathe deeply and try to calm down. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Tam doesn't forget about me, Harry!" Jez complained. "Ever!"

Harry nodded because he knew that was all true. He pulled out his phone even as he sat back down and pulled Jez into his lap. Nicky was out with Jacob to see a film finally and Jez and Harry were having a quiet night in and Tamarack was supposed to be visiting. He dialled Thierry's head of security.

"Lord Harry?" The vampire greeted him. "Are you in trouble?"

He was rightly confused because Harry had the number for the more local team of Thierry's security to call in immediate danger. "I need you to do something for me. Urgently. I need you to track down Tamarack. Use every resource you need. Find out when she landed at the airport and trace her phone. She was due to arrive here thirty minutes ago and she's not contacted us. Call security here to start a search starting from here. I want her found."

"Of course, Lord Harry." The eight hundred year old vampire agreed quickly. "I'll get back to you as soon as I have things in motion."

"No resource spared, Mitch." Harry reminded him and knew the vampire would be happy he wasn't just a staff member to him if Harry knew him by name. Harry hung up and called Rashel. "Sorry, Rashel, I know you and Quinn were having a night together but Tam should have been here thirty minutes ago and she hasn't called Jez. I need you to come watch Jez and keep him sane and I need Quinn to come out with me to find her."

"On my way." She nodded.

"You're going out to find her?" Jez asked as Harry stood them up. "I'm going with you."

"No. You're not." Harry told him simply. "You need to stay here in case she shows up on her own."

"Harry…" Jez started.

"No, Jez." Harry grabbed the sides of his face. "You _will_ listen to me and you _will_ do what I tell you. You will stay here and wait for her and I will go and find her."

"Harry…" Jez muttered but it had no force behind it any more. Harry turned and rushed for his room, pulling on special clothing quickly and strapping his faithful sword to his back just in case. Then again the area was about to be swamped with Thierry's security so there wasn't much chance he'd need it.

He pulled on a trench coat to cover up the sword. Cameron and Thierry had worked on these items of clothing for him. The coat wasn't anything special but the shirt was specially split at the back to allow his wings to emerge. All he'd need to do is take off his coat and he was set to open his wings.

Harry found Rashel trying to convince Jez everything was fine and Quinn waiting for him in the hallway. Harry sent his best friend a reassuring look before closing the apartment door behind him. "You armed, Alexis?" Quinn asked falling into his habit of using Harry's previous life's name. The one that had the bad history with Quinn.

"Yes." Harry told him simply and rushed outside and turned towards the distant airport. His phone rang sharply and he answered quickly. "Yes?"

"Lord Harry. Tamarack arrived on time at the airport, collected her baggage but forwent hiring a vehicle it seems." Mitch told him. "I've sent a team to scour the airport and the witches are trying to track her. Her phone is either damaged or out of range."

"I'm heading out on foot with Quinn." He told him. "Keep me informed."

Harry glanced down the alleyway next to his apartment building and with a shudder everything froze around them. He look his time searching the dustbins and every shadow in the alley but found nothing so headed back to the frozen Quinn and unfroze time. Quinn stumbled at the minor shift in Harry's position.

"It's quicker if I do the looking." Harry told him as he started down the street. He froze time and searched alleys on both sides of the road over and over again until they reached the end of the block and Quinn tensed up as vampires appeared out of a van. He relaxed quickly as they were recognised.

"Sir?" The leader asked quickly.

"Search these two roads. Quinn and I will search along this line." Harry ordered and ducked across the light traffic towards another set of apartment blocks. He knew these streets pretty well being around the Institute but he was getting anxious. The third time he reached an alleyway he spotted something that turned his stomach and he unfroze time, uncaring about any security cameras. "Quinn!" He yelled at the vampire, who would have simply seen Harry vanish.

Quinn appeared at his side even before Harry had finished yelling his name and Harry sunk down next to the bloody form of Tamarack. "Vampires did this." Quinn remarked.

"Call the security." Harry demanded as he touched at Tamarack. She reacted rather violently, reaching out on instinct for the human with the tasty, life-saving, blood but Harry was just as fast as her weakened form and he batted aside her grip and pinned her less-damaged shoulder even as Quinn dropped the phone and pinned her tightly.

"Shh… Tam." Harry soothed. "It's me. Help's coming."

"Jumped me." Tamarack gasped around her fangs. She was in serious need of blood. "Five of them. Left me for dead."

Harry gripped her hands and thumbed the ring around her finger. Thierry's symbol. Few vampires were suicidal enough to attack anyone in this city that bore Thierry's shield so they must have meant business.

"We need to get her to Jez." Harry declared. "I can't feed her." The very idea of it sent ice through his body and made several of his lives writhe against the concept.

"Go!" Quinn demanded and lifted Tamarack into his arms getting a gasp of pain from the younger vampire. Harry glanced at the security rushing to them and nodded to Quinn before freezing the world. It didn't really feel right leaving Tamarack behind like this but he knew Quinn could run the distance back to the apartment in less than a minute. As it was he'd caught time just as Quinn made his move.

Harry ran for the apartment, shoving doors across the moment as he raced up the stairs and into his living room. He unfroze time and Rashel reacted fast before jerking back as she recognised him. As it was the door slamming across the moment made a thud noise as air was suddenly displaced and Jez might as well have yelped.

"Harry!?" Jez begged. Harry moved to the sofa and shoved the coffee table out of the way.

"Quinn's got her." Harry was shaking and they could see it. "She's bad and she needs blood. Jez… I…"

"I have to do it, Harry." Jez was nearly crying. "She's… she needs it."

"I know." Harry nodded and drew in a sharp breath as Quinn blurred into the room and placed Tamarack of the sofa.

"Tammy!" Jez gasped and rushed to her side. Tamarack reacted a little harshly to the smell of blood so close, her instincts coming to the fore and Quinn restrained her. "I'll give you blood, Tam. But you have to calm down." Jez pleaded.

"Jez…" Tamarack gasped up at him before starting to shake her head. "No control. Can't…"

"Tammy?" Jez looked a little lost.

"Listen to me, vampire." Harry hissed and grabbed her face sharply. "I don't give a shit what you think of your control like this. You will take what you need from Jez and you _will_ maintain control or so help me I'll rip you to shreds if you hurt him."

"Harry…" Tamarack whispered before nodding. "He's safe with me."

Harry ripped himself away and paced anxiously as Jez knelt next to the sofa and gave his soulmate his wrist. Harry sobbed and grabbed at his throat as nightmare upon nightmare rose up inside him and before he knew it time was frozen for just long enough for him to settle behind Jez and hug him tightly. Harry held his hands on Jez's chest, feeling his heartbeat as he returned time to normal, to make sure he was alright.

His eyes were plastered shut as he buried his face in Jez's hair, knowing he simply couldn't watch Tamarack's teeth in his best friend's wrist. "It's alright, Harry." Jez whispered to him. "She's paying attention. I can't even feel her mind. She wont take too much."

"I can pull her away if she does." Quinn told him soothingly.

His phone rang in his pocket but before he could even think to ignore it Quinn was pulling it out and answering for him and barking orders along the line and then hanging up. "The witches have the trail of the ones that did this. Thierry's security is hunting them down. They won't get away with it."

"I won't let anyone think they can get away with hunting one of my own in my city." Thierry's voice suddenly announced from the doorway and then he was kneeling at Harry's side and stroking his hair. "It's okay, Harry. She's stopped feeding now."

Harry cracked his eyes open and she had stopped feeding and was just pressing her lips to the palm of Jez's hand. Her wounds were healed over but bruises littered her face. She looked rather tired and not at all like she could hurt any of them but Harry's instincts were screaming at him for letting her drink from Jez like that even though he knew that Jez fed her all the time.

Harry loosened his grip on Jez, a little embarrassed, but Jez just grabbed his hands in one of his own. "It's okay, Harry." Jez whispered to him tiredly.

"I'll get another donor here for Tamarack." Thierry announced. "She needs more blood than Jez can share with her."

Jez nodded before moving to try to stand. Harry helped him up before grabbing him tightly when he wobbled. He grabbed Jez's face in his hands, worried she'd actually taken too much. "Just lightheaded, Harry." Jez assured him.

"Go take him to bed, Ryn." Thierry ordered. "You need the rest too."

Harry nodded blearily and barely noticed it when Quinn helped guide both of them into Harry's room and helped them strip down to their boxers and into bed. Harry pulled Jez onto his front and held him tightly until Jez fell asleep. He called Cameron as he laid there, not really able to sleep just in case something was wrong with Jez and just talked endlessly to Cameron until it was far into the night and Tamarack was fully recovered but for a few bruises and lying down on the other side of the bed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Saturday**

Harry half shuttered his eyes as he played the piece from memory. The last time he'd played this had been on a violin in front of everyone just before he remembered Carter's life but it was hard not to play it when he had the familiar cello in his hands. Jacob and Harry had worked for dozens of hours over the last week to refurbish the old cello and tune it and they'd had to replace the bridges and strings to make it sound as it once had and Harry had shown his great-great nephew how to make the new bridges himself rather than buying the mass produced ones that didn't look right on such an old and loved cello.

Jacob had met Thierry and Hannah that morning and they'd agreed to play a little before lunch and Jacob had been bouncy about the idea all week. It was clear that Carter could teach him something else about music, even despite Sammy's tutoring. Most likely because Sammy had been tutoring a pre-teen and Harry was teaching an equal in age.

They finished their section of Palladio and Harry gave Jacob a warm smile before turning to Thierry and Hannah. "What happened with the vampires that hurt Tamarack?"

"Dead." Thierry told him simply with a worried glance to Jacob who was just watching in fascination.

"Were they after her or just anyone of yours?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't call Tamarack mine." Thierry rolled his eyes.

"She's Circle Daybreak." Harry shrugged.

"She's Cameron's as far as the Night World is concerned." Thierry pointed out.

"I would have thought she was a little fish." Harry frowned at his ancient brother.

"She is." He nodded. "But her relationship with both Cameron and Circle Daybreak is clearly concerning someone."

"Somebody thinks she's swaying Cameron to your side." Harry nodded.

"Our side." Thierry sighed. "You _are_ Circle Daybreak."

"I'm not." Harry grumbled.

"I created Circle Daybreak for you, Ryn. In your memory." Thierry sighed.

"You git!" Harry complained half-heartedly. "Why would you go do something so evil!?"

Jacob burst into laughter, clearly seeing the humour in the situation and both Harry and Thierry turned to look at him. Then Hannah giggled and Thierry slumped back. "I didn't create it just for you. But I was thinking about you when I helped set it up."

"How sweet." Harry rolled his eyes.

"But you're right. The Night World council are concerned that Tamarack is swaying Cameron towards Circle Daybreak." Thierry nodded.

"Too late." Harry grinned.

"You just admitted to being Circle Daybreak." Jacob laughed at him.

"Hush, brat." Harry shot him a glare but it was a loving one really and Jacob just grinned at him.

"I don't imagine Cameron's views are of much concern to the Night World. But his influence over Galen and perhaps even his father is what spurred them into attacking her." Thierry explained.

"Did they know where she was going?" Harry asked. "Do they know about Jez?"

"The five vampires didn't." Thierry shook his head. "They followed her from the airport."

"I trust she's got protection?" Harry prompted.

"What do you take me for, little brother?" Thierry grimaced. "Of course she's got protection. Subtle though it has to be around Cameron and the Shapeshifter Court."

"She's still here until tomorrow." Harry pointed out.

"Indeed." Thierry nodded distractedly.

"What is it, Thierry?" Harry sighed.

"It's nothing." Thierry shook his head.

"Out with it, little brother." Harry half snapped.

"That's really confusing." Jacob pointed out as he glanced at Hannah. "Who really is the younger brother?"

"Nobody knows but them." Hannah sighed. "But remember back in those days people didn't celebrate birthdays as they do now. If they were born in the same season they would have been considered of the same age. It's possible even they do not know who is the younger."

"Well, Harry obviously is." Thierry pointed out.

"In this life time I'm physically older." Harry stuck out his tongue.

"You're not even drinking age." Thierry retorted.

"At least I look old enough to drink in Britain." Harry grinned cheekily. "Plus at least I got through puberty."

"That's harsh." Thierry put on a pout.

"Well if memory serves Hannah doesn't have anything to be disappointed about in that department." Harry leered at Thierry who suddenly looked embarrassed even though it was hard to tell with any vampire. Jacob gaped even as Hannah blushed furiously.

"Somehow in twenty thousand years I forgot you have no boundaries." Thierry rolled his eyes.

"Well it's still strange seeing you dressed in more than a few pieces of cloth." Harry grinned.

"I'll tell Cameron on you." Thierry warned.

"He's been in my memories plenty." Harry laughed. "He's seen plenty of you in just a piece of cloth. And less."

"Stop." Thierry grumbled.

"You're getting grumpy in your old age, Thierry." Harry laughed before squeaking as Thierry vanished a split second before his cello was out of his hands and Harry was being lifted up by Thierry and ran out the window and onto the grass outside. Thierry tackled him playfully and Harry just laughed and struggled back just as playfully.

Eventually Thierry let him go and Harry sucked in air as he panted. Thierry laid next to him and grabbed his hand lightly. "You better not have scratched my cello." Harry warned.

"I know that cello is like a piece of you." Thierry told him softly. "It's fine. I gave it to Jacob."

"So what _is_ bothering you?" Harry asked.

"The Crone and Maiden will be here shortly to speak to the Circle Council." Thierry told him. "We need to talk to the Shapeshifters, especially now that the Night World Council is making moves to sway them towards themselves."

"Drache senior is a member of the Night World Council." Harry pointed out. "So are you."

"He's voted neutral in the last few issues and I'm up against most of the rest whenever something important comes up." Thierry sighed. "They're firmly against me now. If it wasn't for the fact they are scared of me and are all less than half my age I'd be dead by now."

"You're not dying on my watch." Harry growled. "Apart from Cameron you're the most important person in my life. Well you, Jez and Nicky."

"I'm not dying on you." Thierry promised. "I'll…" Thierry paused and Harry turned to look at him across the grass. "I'll be here in your next life to look after you."

"When Cam's gone." Harry turned onto his front and pillowed his head in his arms.

"He asked me to make sure I'm here for you." Thierry smiled at him. "Not that I wouldn't be without him asking."

"I don't want to think about that anymore." Harry declared as he shifted onto his knees and then sat back on his heels. "Why does this involve me?"

"Too quick for me." Thierry laughed. Harry just levelled him with a stern look. "I need someone to meet with the First House of the Shapeshifters and make them see the seriousness of our situation. Of the world's situation. Somebody who's seen and understands what's going to happen to this world if we don't unite and fight to preserve life."

"Why don't you go then?" Harry pressed.

"Because he's scared of me." Thierry shrugged. "He'll hold back purely because he knows I can walk right over him."

"Then what about the Crone?" Harry pushed.

"To much his equal." Thierry shrugged. "Everyone else is his equal or less. I need somebody so far above him in the grand scheme of things that he'll be forced to respect them."

"And you think a nineteen year old human's going to be able to do that?" Harry scoffed. "I'd like to say he'll recognise me from being just some vet to show him around a zoo but he won't even remember me because to him I'm just some inconsequential human."

"But you're not." Thierry prompted. "You have wisdom and experience. You have power just in your words because as soon as you start using them people can't help but respect you."

"You're so full of shite." Harry told his oldest friend and poked him in the side before shaking his hand as if in pain. "Talk about rock hard abs."

"Stop it!" Thierry hid his face with his arms and Harry shifted and used Thierry's shoulder as a pillow. "Will you do it?"

"Go see Cameron and his family?" Harry asked. Thierry nodded. "Sure. I'll take Quinn and Rashel but that's it."

"Are you sure?" Thierry frowned. "He's still bound by Night World law about humans."

"I can handle myself and how will he respect me with a hundred bodyguards between me and any threat?" Harry shrugged. "Besides if something kicks off I'll have Quinn and Rashel _and_ Tamarack will be there with Cameron and Galen knows the truth so I have his two only sons to protect me."

"Will Galen stand up for you?" Thierry asked.

"Knowing what his little brother will suffer should anything happen to me?" Harry suggested. "He'll keep me safe." He nodded. "You and I both know what a brother will do for his little brother."

"True." Thierry grinned. "Will we ever tell them that we don't know which of us is actually the little brother?"

Harry laughed. "Nah… it's too much fun to wind up the whole Circle."

Thierry just hugged him before standing them up so they could go meet with the senior members of the Circle as well as Harry's favourite two witches.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That evening**

"Yes, I'll be showing up about eight tomorrow evening." Harry told Cameron over the phone. He was lying in bed and Jez was tucked up against his side. His phone was on speaker so that Jez was part of the conversation and Cameron knew he was there but didn't care. Cameron knew that Harry shared everything with Jez. "The Circle's Council have supposedly informed your father that they are sending someone with the authority to negotiate with him about the situation."

"So I heard at dinner." Cameron grumbled. "You could have warned me it was you. Dad was ranting about people throwing their weight around."

"I have great respect for your father." Harry told him with a small laugh.

"No you don't." Cameron laughed. "A pompous arse. I think that's what you said."

"That was like twenty thousand years ago." Harry complained.

"Not to him." Cameron pointed out.

"Do you honestly think he'd recognise me from Marwell?" Harry asked seriously.

"Oh…" Cameron sighed. "I wish I could say yes but as far as he's concerned you're just human. But I get why Thierry thinks you'd be the best for this. You'll prove that the Circle isn't trying to intimidate him."

"Harry can be intimidating you know." Jez joined in quietly. Cameron laughed through the speaker.

"That he can but not as much as if Thierry sent one of his older vampires." Cameron pointed out.

"Will you and Galen be there?" Jez asked.

"I'll look out for him, Jez." Cameron promised. "And Dad wants us all there to show a united front. Plus Tam will be with me as always."

"And I'm bringing Quinn and Rashel." Harry added. "What does your dad think about this?"

"He doesn't really talk to me about it." Cameron sighed. "He talks to Galen but my brother thinks he really is on the fence. He just doesn't care about humans for the most part and can see the logic in uniting with the main power of the Night World. He doesn't want to risk being out on a limb if the Night World as a whole turns on him. Not to mention the divide it will cause with shapeshifters. He knows some of his shapeshifters are working with Circle Daybreak but because they do he knows they're not likely to turn on him regardless of what he decides."

"He's more worried about the faction that will go against him and work with the Night World Council if he sides with Circle Daybreak." Harry sighed. "That's my job I suppose. Make him see that the risk is worth it to try to preserve life. And that the Circle does have the might to face the Night World Council."

"What about the witches?" Cameron asked. "He's wondering whether to refuse to choose until the witches make their move."

"Understandable." Harry sighed. "We don't know yet. The Crone, Mother and Maiden will side with us and probably Circle Twilight but Midnight is likely to go against us. They'll split but they've always been a little split."

"So I'll see you tomorrow." Cameron muttered knowing that Harry and Jez needed their sleep. "How are you feeling, Jez?"

"Living it up." Jez chuckled. "Harry's not let go of me for days."

"Too right." Cameron laughed. "Nightmares?"

"Not me." Jez announced before blushing when he realised that Cameron was talking about Harry. "Harry's had a few per night."

"You staying with him?" Cameron checked.

"Of course." Jez announced happily. "He's my best pillow."

Harry laughed and just cuddled Jez against his chest. "I'll see you tomorrow, Cam."

"Love you, Harry." Cameron's smile was obvious. "I suppose you too, Jez."

"Aww… that's sweet." Jez giggled. "Love you too, brother-in-law."

Harry laughed at that. "Love you, Cam."

They signed off and Jez just cuddled into Harry as soon as the light was off.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

"You have to admit they have style." Rashel admitted as their limo pulled up along the length of the drive towards a house the same size as Thierry's, if not a little bigger. It was a massive mansion built in the Victorian style. Thierry's home had been built earlier as Thierry had been one of the first to travel to the 'new world' but Harry knew from Cameron that his great-great grandfather had moved the seat of the Shapeshifter monarchy to United States in the middle of the Victorian Age hence why it was located much further north than Las Vegas. They'd had to fly all the way to Maine to meet with the Drache family although Harry was happy to see a much greener environment. He'd really gotten tired of lights and deserts.

The mansion was built out of bricks and reminded Harry of the Houses of Parliament in Britain with its towers and arched windows. He knew from his own experience in architecture that it was built to bring Victorian wealth and power along with them at a time when the British Empire had known no bounds. Right over the main door was a tall tower with a clock but it was already starting to get dark this far north so they didn't waste time outside and slid out of the car.

"I remember the turn of the century in this country." Harry told Rashel. "Buildings like this were well respected. It showed incredible power and influence, like the Victorians had in Britain."

"I always thought the Victorians were so snobbish." Quinn muttered.

"I never met Queen Victoria." Harry shrugged. "I met King Richard the Lionheart."

"Really!?" Rashel sounded fascinated, like she did whenever she learnt something new and fascinating about Harry's old life.

"I was an archer in his army." Harry shrugged. "He had a habit of lurking around in his army to find out if they still loved him or not."

"And…?" Rashel prompted as two men appeared from the main doors and headed down towards them, frowns rather evident on their faces as they took in the two humans with the vampire.

"Didn't really have an opinion." Harry shrugged.

"_You_ didn't have an opinion?" Quinn laughed.

"Hey, I only knew myself as Archer that time around." Harry grumbled.

"Archer?" Rashel frowned.

"Hey! I like that name." Harry grumbled just as the two shapeshifters in suits stopped and nodded to Quinn in greeting, ignoring Harry and Rashel completely.

"Welcome, Vampire." One of them greeted. "You are here to speak to our King?" Quinn nodded for them all. "Your _humans_ can wait here with your car."

"That would really defeat the purpose of my visiting then, wouldn't it?" Harry rolled his eyes and walked passed them. Rashel followed him quickly, her sword displayed clearly on her back. He knew it was a silver-laced sword so it would do some serious damage if she had to use it. Harry had decided not to bring his but he felt a little naked without it now that he had it back.

"That _human_ would be the most respected member of Circle Daybreak." Quinn told the shocked guards before following after his soulmate and Harry. The guards were struck a little dumb it seemed but they quickly took to showing the three of them through the mansion. They were quickly led into a large room filled with shapeshifters and a few vampires that Quinn rather blatantly eyed up. The room went silent as they all turned to see the three of them.

"The vampire in the dark blue suit works for the Night World Council." Quinn muttered into Harry's ear. "They want to know the outcome of this meeting."

Harry shrugged and headed through the now clear middle of the room. There were groups of chairs all around the room centred around each of the twenty fireplaces that lined the room. True Victorian majesty. A few people remained seated but a lot stood to line the room. As he approached the head of the room Quinn and Rashel fell in behind him, showing everyone who was leading this visit and muttering started. Harry spotted Cameron and Galen quickly but didn't let his eyes linger too long. Galen was sitting on his father's right hand side with Cameron on Galen's right and then Sophan. On Mr. Drache's other side sat his wife and then Elizabeth. And behind them by the rear wall between Cameron and his older brother stood Tamarack who gave him nothing but the smallest twitch of his lips in a smile.

Sophan leaned over towards Cameron and started whispering rapidly. She'd recognised him and Harry wasn't too surprised. She'd been the most willing to chat with Harry at the zoo that one time. Cameron whispered back before taking her hand as Harry stopped a short distance away. Close enough he could talk normally and be heard. The muttering in the room got louder until Lucian Drache snapped his fingers, calling for silence. The room reacted quickly and hushed.

Harry bowed his head but straightened up as he heard a growl from right in front of him. A cat's growl. He already knew that both of Cameron's parents were large cats. Lucian was a Lion and Esephanie was from a family of Lions too.

"What does Circle Daybreak think they are doing sending a human in place of a proper negotiator?" He snarled to Quinn.

"If that is your opinion then why are you even choosing to speak with us at all?" Harry snapped right back.

"How dare you talk to the Lord of the First House _human_?" Cameron's mother sneered at him and Harry saw Galen and Cameron tense up. This wasn't going to end well.

"You disrespected me and my guard first." Harry sneered right back and he felt Cameron's mind shiver against his own even with this small distance as lives rose inside Harry's mind, all those that hated the shapeshifters with Kinen at the head, the part of Harry that had hated Shapeshifters so much that he wanted to kill all of them.

"_Kinen, take it easy."_ Cameron whispered into his mind and the fact he simply knew who out of all of Harry's lives to address calmed Harry the most.

He felt another mind reaching out to him then and frowned before turning his head to look directly at Sophan. "Princess Sophan, having powers over the mind does not give you the right to reach into the mind of a guest." Harry spoke calmly and watched Cameron squeeze his sister's hand. Sophan's eyes focused on Harry in surprise even as Galen and the King and Queen tensed up. "For your own safety I advise you to stay out of my mind."

He half expected it when it happened. He'd essentially just challenged them with what was in his mind and he felt a powerful mind flood against his own, breaking through the exterior surface and into the chaos of his ancient mind. Memories shattered against the intruder and Harry flinched as he witnessed them in flashes. He felt Cameron surge to his defence but caught his eyes with a plain demand for him to stay out of it. The intruder tried to get free but as every nightmarish memory slammed into them they got weaker and weaker and unable to get free.

This was the moment that Harry could shove the intruder out but he let them suffer and heard somebody choking behind him. He turned to look at the vampire in the blue suit. "You mock humans but it's a vampire without the sense to heed my warning." Harry told them all as Quinn walked forwards and grabbed the vampire around the neck. The vampire hung limply in his grip and Quinn touched his forehead with his other hand and knocked him out and let him drop to the ground.

"That is the reason I stopped your daughter from entering my mind." Harry turned back to the annoyed King and Queen. "No mind can enter mine. There are too many minds and too many memories to contend with."

"You are an Old Soul?" The King demanded.

"I am an Old Soul." Harry confirmed.

"And his total lifespan totals a number greater than the combined years of all of those in this room." Quinn announced simply.

"Thierry…" Harry started.

"Lord Thierry to you, human." Another vampire hissed.

"I am here to speak with the First House!" Harry snapped back at the vampire. "If you blood-suckers would kindly butt out. I'm sure the King can speak for himself without you demeaning his court."

The vampire started forwards angrily but a snap of the King's fingers brought him up short. Harry turned back to the King. "Is this the Court of the First House of Shapeshifters or the hall of the Night World Council?" Harry asked seriously. "If you are simply letting these vampires and their Lords dictate policies to you then I'm wasting my time here."

"Get out." The King snapped but his eyes had turned to the small group of three vampires and they tensed up before grumbling as they left.

"You have an issue with Vampires?" Galen spoke up as if he didn't know anything about Harry.

"Not in particular." Harry told him simply. "My oldest friend is a vampire. My problem is with people looking down on me as a human."

"You know Lord Thierry well?" The King asked sharply.

"As I said, my oldest friend is a vampire." Harry told him. "I grew up with Thierry when he was still a human."

"Then you grew up with Hecate and Hellwise." The Queen frowned.

"I was of their clan." Harry nodded. "Thierry was my hunting-mate and best friend. Hecate was my adopted mother after wolves killed my parents. I was raised with Hellwise and Maya."

"That's some history to claim." The king pointed out.

"Do you believe Thierry would send me to speak for Circle Daybreak if we did not have such a history?" Harry asked simply. "I was already ten-thousand years old _before_ I was part of that clan."

"Impossible!" The Queen gasped. "Nobody is that old."

"Apart from the First House none in the Night World can claim heritage that far back." Harry nodded. It was one of the prides of the First House. "Shapeshifters might date back further than vampires, werewolves and even witches but humanity is just as old."

"The only report of an Old Soul of that age is in Hecate's prophecy." The Queen frowned.

"This is a time of many prophecies." Harry mused. "The point of sending me however is that I know your family. I was there to witness your darker, more powerful, cousins ruling humans and shapeshifters alike. I was there when your ancestors were spared from their fate."

"You witnessed that?" The King frowned.

"It was Witches that convinced humanity to spare your ancestors. Unlike the Dragons you could be killed much easier." Harry shook his head.

"And you?" The King asked. "If you were there were you supporting the humans or the Witches?"

Harry laughed. "I would have killed your ancestors and had done with it." Muttering erupted and Cameron's mind gave him a rather disgruntled complaint. "Thirty thousand years has however proven that the shapeshifters need a strong House to unite them."

The King was clearly surprised by that. "I see why Lord Thierry sent you for Circle Daybreak."

"Do not mistake this…" Harry sighed. "I am not part of Circle Daybreak. I am not on their council and I do not take orders from them. My allegiance is to Thierry and to my Soulmate."

"You have a Soulmate?" The Queen frowned. "Of what race is she?"

"He." Harry shook his head. "And you need to worry. He is not under your command." Which was true really. "And I am perfectly capable of killing any Night World Lord that believes it is their right to demand death in the name of ridiculous laws."

"Those laws are what our society is built on." The Queen pointed out.

"Your society is built on the humans." Harry argued back simply. "Your need to hide from them to protect yourselves is what formed the Night World in the first place but twenty-thousand years ago humans knew of shapeshifters and witches and lived with them. It was your arrogance and the arrogance of the vampires that forced humanity to turn on you. Just as humanity turned on the Dragons."

"With a little help from the Witches." Galen pointed out.

"And Angels…" Harry grinned suddenly. "If you believe the stories."

"You were there so you say." Sophan spoke up with a rather put upon regal air. "Were there really Angels?"

"We've talked about those silly stories." The queen told her daughter off.

Harry smirked and bowed to the youngest Drache. "Angel is a modern term, Princess. Humans of that age simply saw something that they could not comprehend. It is the Witches that have passed down the concept of Angels."

"Enough of this." The King sighed. "Tell me the truth. What do you want from us?"

"Peace." Harry stated simply taking them by surprise. "I've watched the world turn over on itself three times. I watched fire burn out the shapeshifters, ice weaken the witches, floods destroy the vampires. I don't know what will herald this change but I do know that the coming time will mean death and loss on a scale we cannot imagine. The Night World Council believes, foolishly, that as humans are on top now that they will be on top afterwards but Vampires, Witches and Shapeshifters have had their chance and the humans will not just let somebody force them on the defensive."

"What could _humans_ do to us?" One of the shapeshifter's asked from behind him.

"Seriously?" Harry asked him with a laugh. "Do you not bother with human history? You use their weapons, their technology, phones, flight, trains, cars, even the internet yet you do not understand their power?"

"Humans have been to space. They have been to the moon." Rashel spoke up.

"And they dropped two weapons on a country forty-five years ago that killed quarter of a million people." Harry stated simply. "And in the last half a century their weapons have become bigger, more destructive and more intelligent. War now will not help your species, King Drache. Only peace will win this. The world will turn over in some manner and only by working together as _one _population can we all prosper."

"The Night World Council will never work with all." The King pointed out. "And the Witches will most likely side with the vampires."

"And the Vampires and Witches say that you will most likely side with the Council." Harry told him. "Will you let them tell you what to do or will you decide on your own? Circle Daybreak want you to join them and with your support chances are Circle Twilight and many of the Witches will join us as well. We already have the support of the Crone, Mother and Maiden."

"Do you?" The Queen straightened up.

"Not to Circle Daybreak." Harry shook his head. "But I have the Crone and Maiden's support."

"Lord Thierry seems wise to have sent you." The King mused.

"He just knows that I don't care about a person's position." Harry shook his head. "I have lived many lives and served many Kings, Queens and Emperors. I have been many people with many duties and I have seen every type of emotion and act on this planet."

"And what will you do if I side the Shapeshifters with the Night World Council?" The King asked.

"I'm not a fighter in this." Harry told him simply and half turned to leave. "I'm trying to protect the people I love first and then try to see the world get past this more or less intact."

"A noble task." The King announced.

"Don't get me wrong, King Drache. I live first for my soulmate and I _can_ and _will_ kill for him. If his life is threatened I will take apart any organisation that is responsible." Harry told him sharply. "And the Night World Council, and the First House if you side with them, would see him and I dead for the love we share. I will live again no matter what happens to me but he will not."

"Your priorities are clear." The King nodded. "That is rare with any species."

"My soulmates priorities are just as clear." Harry told him simply without looking at Cameron or Galen. "I have seen many millennia, King Drache, and for the first time Soulmates are visible in every direction I look. I have met a dozen shapeshifters who have found themselves soulmates with vampires, shapeshifters, witches, werewolves and most often with humans. How long until this affects your family too? The greatest power in this world is pulling all of the species of the planet together without exception. That in itself is a sign of what we need to do to prosper. You may regret siding with the Night World Council but no matter what happens you will not regret siding with Circle Daybreak."

"I will think on this." The King nodded. "It will take some time."

"I can understand that." Harry nodded.

"You have not eaten?" The Queen asked.

"Not as of yet." Harry nodded. "You might understand that I cannot disclose where I will be staying tonight for the same reason I have not in fact introduced myself to you. I will not risk my guards in their duty to protect me from the Night World Council and their influence here."

"My sons will take you to dinner." The King announced. "And you will be safe while you stay in this city."

Harry was a little surprised by the King's declaration but simply bowed his head in acceptance and turned to leave as Cameron and Galen rose up. Harry could hear Sophan and Elizabeth asking to go with them and paused. "My guards and I can assure you of their safety while with us." He spoke louder for them to hear. "Just as they were safe with me at Marwell Zoo during the summer."

He smirked as they finally recognised him and the King's face was priceless. He had been right when he'd spoke to Cameron the night before. The only downside of taking the girls what that he'd have to remain unfamiliar with Galen and Cameron but then again the King was likely to send people to watch over the safety of his children.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


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